He says the damage done to the British economy by the Conservative Party will make things “really difficult” for Labour. “We cannot take irresponsible risks with the country’s finances, we must be the party of sound money,” Sir Keir said. The Labor leader then referred to Neil Kinnock’s famous party conference speech in 1985 – and accused Liz Truss of a “grotesque mess” in the sacking of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. He pointed to the “grotesque mess of a Tory prime minister handing out sacking notices to her own chancellor”. “This lot,” said Sir Keir. “They didn’t just hit the British economy – they also prevailed. “They got stuck as they made the pound sink, we got stuck as they drove our pensions to the brink of collapse. “I was stuck as they pushed the British people’s mortgages and bills through the roof. “They did all that. All the pain our country is facing now is because of them – and there’s still one person left: the prime minister.” Sir Keir added that, deep down, Liz Truss knows she cannot go on. She said her MPs should know they “do not have a mandate to make unfunded promises”. “Whatever they don’t say, whatever they do boils down to an argument for them. It’s party first, country second and that’s inexcusable.”
