Keir Starmer warns voters they must prepare for inflation spike caused by Iran and says Britain must be ‘much closer to the EU’

Sir Keir Starmer warned of a ‘rise in inflation’ due to a ‘war on two fronts’ but said the country should not return to the ‘status quo’ after the war in Iran, instead ‘we need to follow a different path’.

He agreed with the Bank of England’s firm predictions that inflation in the UK could rise above 6 percent, and warned that “I don’t want anyone to think that everything will go back to normal” even when the Strait of Hormuz opens.

The closure of the important shipping channel by Iran caused damage worldwide by disrupting the flow of oil, which in turn caused prices to rise.

Speaking today, the Prime Minister also promised to bring the country ‘closer to the EU’ despite Brexit and signaled his support for green energy, saying it was no longer an ‘ideological argument’ because energy had been ‘weaponised’ and the UK should be self-sufficient.

Comparing the effects of the war to economic shocks like COVID and Brexit, he accused previous governments of ‘flatlining the country’ for two decades by not doing anything different afterwards.

And while he still said he refused to be ‘dragged’ into a war that was ‘against our national interests’, he acknowledged that it was damaging the economy, which he claimed was recovering, and claimed that ‘the biggest beneficiary is Putin’.

Speaking to Radio 4’s Today program ahead of next week’s crucial local elections, he acknowledged the ‘frustrations of voters’ and said the country is in an era-defining moment when a different course must be taken.

He also insisted he would be tried at the end of his term rather than after election results that were expected to be disastrous for Labor, leading to calls for him to stand down.

‘There are moments in history that define a generation, and I think we are in one of those moments.

‘The Iran War is not our war and we will not be dragged into it. No matter how much pressure is put on me, I will not drag the UK into war. This is against our national interest but it affects us. It affects our economy. ‘It affects our economy and what happens on our streets.’

The Prime Minister said the economy “started to turn the corner” in the spring, with inflation falling to ‘3 per cent and six consecutive interest rate cuts’, along with ‘better growth figures than anyone expected’ and ‘green shoots of change’, but all of this has now changed according to the latest forecasts.

“This is a war on two fronts and the person who benefits most from the war in Iran right now is Putin because he will be emboldened because it is a war on two fronts,” he warned.

‘We often talk about the world being in greater conflict than we have known in our lifetime. This affects what happens in Britain. My strong view is that many voters are disappointed that they are not seeing the change they want to see in this country. We plateaued for 20 years.

‘Because when we face a crisis like this, whether it’s the 2008 crash, Brexit or Covid-19, the government of the day wishes to return to the status quo as quickly as possible. But the status quo wasn’t working and so we can’t do it again. “We must take a different path in response to this crisis,” he insisted.

Claiming that he was ‘leading with President Macron’ on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said:

‘Even if this happens, I don’t want anyone to think that everything will go back to normal when the Bosphorus is opened.

‘There is war in Ukraine and all indications are that the world will become more volatile, not less.

‘We look at Europe and ask, ‘Is Europe strong enough?’ you should think. I don’t think we are. We look at our alliances and wonder ‘are they business as usual?’ We should think.

In an interview with Nick Robinson, Sir Keir agreed with the Bank of England’s firm predictions that inflation in the UK could rise above six per cent.

‘The answer must not be the status quo but a changing Britain, a stronger Britain and a fairer Britain; ‘A country that can withstand these shocks, these global events, and this means strengthening our economy, our investment, our technology, getting rid of the obstacles to the economy and being much closer to the EU.’

When asked what the man in the street would think about it when we voted to leave the EU, he said: ‘We need to be more resilient. We need to be stronger and resilient to shocks.

‘We need to take back control of their bills. Energy independence is no longer an ideological argument. ‘There’s an element of climate change, but there’s more to it than that.’

Warning that our energy supply had been ‘weaponised’, he said: ‘All the time we are on the oil and gas market internationally, we will be impacted by what is happening globally. We have to take control.’

He also said Europe was ‘not strong enough’ in terms of defense and security and that ‘Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe’.

‘This is not just about being close to the EU. This is a larger figure than the EU in terms of defense and security. We need to be stronger. ‘We bring a lot to the table when it comes to defence, but for at least 20 years European countries have not done enough and it is up to leaders to step into this area.’

Asked about criticism from former defense secretary George Robertson, who led last year’s Strategic Defense Review, he said there was “a corrosive indifference in Britain’s political leadership” and warned that the unsustainable welfare budget, which is five times the amount spent on defence, needed to be addressed.

The government has faced constant criticism for delaying details of exactly how to increase defense spending, which was urgently recommended in the review.

He also said he always took responsibility for the ‘mistake’ in appointing Peter Mandelson, accusing opposition parties of using the situation as an opportunity to attack him, and always denied ‘blaming others when he quit’.

‘Much of what has happened in the last week and the various motions in Parliament are being put forward by my political opponents because they don’t like what this government is doing. They want to undermine me and overthrow the government by reversing what we have done.’

Asked about growing reports that he is being surrounded by political rivals for office, including Heath Minister Wes Streeting and his former deputy Angela Rayner, and whether he would step aside after the disastrous local election results, he insisted:

‘I was elected for a five-year term with a manifesto of change in a landslide victory in July 2024. At the end of this period, I will be judged in the next election on whether I fulfilled what I promised.’