will set out his determination “to preserve and renew
the United Kingdom” in his first speech on the Union on Monday
[21 December].
Setting out a new era of devolution, Starmer will pledge that the
next Labour manifesto will “aim to win power, in order to push as
much power as possible away from Westminster.’
The Labour leader will argue that the richness of the UK is
measured not only in power or prosperity, but by shared “history,
values and identity” that has made borders obsolete.
He will say the UK is shaped by “the amazing things we’ve
achieved together” – and that the only way to create an “open,
more optimistic and outward-looking country” is together.
In a major intervention which will set the tone for UK Labour and
Scottish Labour’s campaign for next year’s Holyrood elections,
Starmer’s speech will set out how the next phase of devolution
can build a more democratic and socially just Scotland in a
modern United Kingdom.
Promising “a positive alternative to the Scottish people”, the
Labour leader will recognise the need to build on Labour’s long
tradition of promoting and implementing devolution as a vehicle
for social justice.
On the United Kingdom, he is expected to say:
“Our nations are bound by our history, values and our identity.
“Our families live across borders and our businesses operate
across borders. We’re interconnected and we’re interdependent.
“That’s not just a precious inheritance or a description of the
past, it's what we are. It's what I want for our children, for
the next generation.
“I don’t believe in putting up borders across any part of our
United Kingdom
“In dividing people, communities, and families who have stood
together for so long.
“I believe in that core Labour principle that we achieve more
together than we do alone.
“All four nations working together to build a more open, more
optimistic and outward-looking country. A United Kingdom that’s a
force for social justice and a moral force for good in the world.
“That’s why I’m so determined to preserve and to renew the United
Kingdom.”
On devolution, he will add:
“I want devolution and social justice to be the hallmarks of the
next Labour government.
“I may be the first person ever to run to be Prime Minister of
this country on a manifesto that will aim to win power and then
push as much of that power as possible away from Westminster.
“Because there’s a yearning across the United Kingdom for
politics and power to be much closer to people.”
