For the last 14 years the Tory government had always insisted it was on the side of the hard-working people of Britain... [...] none of the five different prime ministers thought it worth their while making the hour-long train ride to Brighton to speak to the TUC conference. Or to even open a dialogue.
Ten weeks into his time of office, Keir Starmer became the first prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2009 to make the effort to address the TUC... But what they got was pretty much the standard tough choices version... Sooner or later he's going to have to write some new material.
The Tories have wrecked the public finances. A 22bn black hole. This is going to hurt me far more than it hurts you... So there were hard decisions to be made. Ones that he wouldn't duck.
It was enough to win Starmer a standing ovation that veered towards the polite rather than the enthusiastic. The unions appreciated the gesture but would wait to see how things panned out.
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