British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday gave the first indication of some tough tax measures in store in the October budget in the first keynote address of his premiership since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month.

In a planned speech at the Rose Garden before a gathering of apprentices, medics and other professionals, Starmer declared the state of the public finances was left in a much worse condition by the previous Conservative Party regime than the Labour government had expected, reports PTI.

Overhauling Britain will take time

He declared that his job was now to fix the foundations which would involve “short-term pain for long-term good” and admitted that “unpopular” decisions would have to be made.

“A Budget is coming in October and it is going to be painful. We have no other choice given the situation that we are in. I promised that this government would serve people like you – apprentices, teachers, nurses, small business owners, firefighters, those serving our community and our country every day,” he said, addressing the Downing Street gathering.

The keynote, timed a week before Parliament resumes after its summer recess next week, was designed to assert that “it will not be business as usual because we cannot go on like this any more”.

“Things will have to be done differently. We will do the hard work to root out 14 years of rot, reverse a decade of decline and fix the foundations. Between now and Christmas, we will carry on as we started: action not words. We will introduce legislation and take decisions to protect taxpayers’ money,” said Starmer.

UK riots

Referencing the recent far-right riots across different parts of the UK, the former barrister and chief prosecutor said the violent clashes did not just “betray the sickness” left in the wake of the former government’s “cynical conflict of populism” but also revealed that the cure was to be found in the “coming together of a country”.

“When, after the hard work of clearing up the mess is done, we have a country that we have built together, built to last, that belongs to every single one of us… This is our country. Let’s fix it – together,” he noted.

Possible higher taxes on the wealthy

Addressing media queries after the speech, Starmer reiterated that the tough economic decisions ahead were down to a GBP 22 billion “black hole” left at the end of 14 years of Tories in charge.

“We were being honest about the situation before the election, we set out very clearly what we would be doing with tax rises,” he said, stressing that his commitment not to put up income tax, National Insurance or VAT “remains the position” and “those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden”.

“The Budget is in several weeks and the details will be set out there,” he said, about the Autumn Budget Statement scheduled for October 30.

In his choice of Downing Street’s Rose Garden “once used for lockdown parties” as the venue to condemn the “last government’s recklessness”, the UK Prime Minister aimed to draw a clear line between how things were done under the Conservatives and how he intended to govern.

Stark draws Sunak’s ire

Within minutes, the speech attracted one of the first responses in weeks from Starmer’s predecessor at Downing Street, interim Opposition Leader Rishi Sunak, who took to social media to attack Labour’s tax-raising plans. “Keir Starmer’s speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along – raise your taxes,” Sunak posted on X.