Starmer rejects claims he is talking country down

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has denied talking the country down with his repeated warnings about the state of the public finances and the NHS.

Some business leaders and economists have accused the government of damaging confidence in the economy by presenting a gloomy picture.

The prime minister told the BBC he was making the “difficult decisions” needed to grow the economy and get public services “properly functioning” again.

Since winning power, Labour have warned of tough decisions, accusing the previous Conservative government of leaving a £22bn “black hole” of unfunded spending commitments – something the Tories deny.

Earlier this month, former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane warned the government’s approach had generated “fear and foreboding” and uncertainty among consumers, businesses and investors.

In an interview with the BBC in New York, where the PM is attending a United Nations summit, he was asked if the negative language used by government ministers in the past few months “talks the country down”.

In response Sir Keir said: “No, that’s not right. We have to have an accurate diagnosis of what the problem is, and then our job is to say, what are we going to do about it?”

Repeating one of the key messages of his speech to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, Sir Keir said his government was taking “difficult decisions”.

“The purpose of the difficult decisions is to make sure we grow the economy, living standards, everyone better off. Our public services back properly functioning, an NHS that’s on its feet,” he added.

Pressed over whether the government’s messaging could be making the situation worse, Sir Keir said: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that anybody seriously would argue that the NHS is going gangbusters.”

The PM was also asked about reports of growing unease in the health service over the government’s messaging that the NHS is “broken”.

Senior NHS sources told the BBC they believe some of the claims have gone too far – and may result in patients being put off seeking help and cause lasting damage to staff morale.

Sir Keir said he understood the messaging was “difficult” for staff but he blamed the Conservatives for leaving confidence and satisfaction in the NHS at “an all-time low”.

He added that the NHS was “broken but not beaten”.

Polls suggest Sir Keir’s personal ratings have dropped rapidly since entering Downing Street, with one poll by Ipsos Mori suggesting he is now the second least popular prime minister since the 1990s, beaten only by Liz Truss.

Asked if this gave him “pause for thought”, Sir Keir said: “No, I will be judged at the next election on whether I’ve delivered higher living standards so people are better off, better public services, with the NHS functioning properly again and delivered on things like border security, economic security and national security.”

He added: “That means unpopular decisions now, tough choices… We’ve got to do the difficult things first. So I’m not going to be fixated about this poll or that poll.”

Meanwhile, there have also been reports of tensions between the PM’s chief of staff Sue Gray and senior officials.

Last week, the BBC was leaked details of Ms Gray’s salary, revealing she was now paid more than Sir Keir.

Asked if he would get rid of the “grumblers” leaking to the media or Ms Gray herself, Sir Keir refused to discuss individual members of staff, arguing they should not “be the subject of public debate like this”.

He acknowledged that anonymous briefings against Ms Gray were “not helpful to the government”.

He added: “My focus is on what we need to do as a government to change the country for the better. It’s my job to deal with briefings, and I take responsibility for that.”

The interview came after Labour’s first party conference since its landslide election victory in July.

However, the mood at the conference in Liverpool was dampened by rows over donations and cuts to winter fuel payments for millions pensioners.

Earlier, unions won a non-binding vote at the conference calling on the government to reverse the cuts.

Sir Keir said he understood the “concern” over the decision but the government had to make “difficult choices” because of the state of the public finances.