There are moments in history that shape our future for generations. Where we have to decide who we are as a country.
This is one of those moments.
Because for some people in Britain today, life does not feel safe.
The appalling terror attack in Golders Green this week was not an isolated incident. It was a brutal reminder that antisemitism is not something happening somewhere else, or to someone else. It is here, it is real, and it is growing.
And too many people still refuse to see it, or choose not to.
Antisemitism is a threat to our whole country.
That is why we have moved immediately to strengthen policing and security funding. Why we have increased already enhanced protection for communities at risk. And why we are reviewing whether the powers available to law enforcement are adequate for the threats we face.
Of course we stand with the Jewish community, today and always. But this fight is bigger than solidarity alone. It is about the kind of Britain we want to live in.
I want a Britain where no one has to hide their identity. Where people can walk down the street without fear.
That is the Britain I believe in. And it is a Britain worth fighting for.
What we are seeing on our streets does not exist in isolation.
Global conflict is bleeding into life at home.
We are facing a war on two fronts – in Ukraine and in the Middle East. A fractured world, more dangerous than at any point in my lifetime.
And it has brought us to a tipping point.
Not just for our national security – abroad and at home.
But also for our economy and our society.
And so, I think there is a choice.
We can rise to this moment together – become a stronger, more resilient and more united nation with opportunities for all.
Or we can sink into the politics of grievance and division.
A politics that would make us weaker, less secure, and less able to face this moment of danger and turbulence.
I want to set out how we can rise together in a national effort to strengthen our country and take control of our future.
To raise our sights, and reach towards something better.
A Britain that is truly built for all.
No turning back to the status quo
Britain has been buffeted by crises for decades now.
From the austerity that followed the 2008 financial crash, through Brexit, Covid, and the disastrous mini budget.
The response each time was not to rally the nation, not to reach forward to something better, but to slump back to the old status quo.
A status quo that has manifestly failed working people.
A status quo that no longer exists.
Time after time, the moment came, and governments ducked the challenge.
Well – not this time.
The answer to this moment, to the world we face today, is not passive government.
Nor is it the populists who look out at the world and offer only easy answers that would make us weaker, or bankrupt.
This is a time for patriots.
For active, interventionist government – together with active patriotic citizens – prepared to confront reality and do the serious, hard work we need.
It’s about responding, not just to one crisis in isolation, but adapting to a world where we know shocks are more frequent and being more ready and able to deal with them.
Because that resilience is what gives us control, and the chance to build the future people want.
To be safe and secure, of course, but more than that.
People deserve to enjoy life, to enjoy more opportunities and better living standards.
Those little moments, with your family that make the hard work that is ingrained in our national character worth all the effort.
So over the coming weeks – through the King’s speech and beyond – we will roll out a new agenda of radical reform to reshape our nation and deliver the renewal and resilience we need.
To allow us to deliver on the promise of our country.
Strengthening our economy
First, we will strengthen our economic security.
Although Britain did not join the war in Iran – which was the right decision for our country - there is no doubt that it is impacting our economy.
Before this war, the economy was starting to turn the corner.
We’d got inflation down.
Interest rates cut six times.
Borrowing and debt were down.
Real wages were up.
Living standards were up.
It’s hard to swallow that this war has slowed our nation’s progress.
But, because we strengthened the foundations, we are in a better position now to weather this storm.
It has meant that since the conflict began, we have been able to cap energy bills, raise the living wage, strengthen workers’ rights and end the shameful two-child benefit limit.
Lifting nearly half a million children out of poverty.
We will keep supporting those who need it most.
And beyond just managing the fallout of this crisis, I am building an international effort to solve it.
When conditions allow ships to start moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, they will need reassurance that is safe to do so.
That is why, together with France and our partners, we have brought dozens of countries together to launch a multinational military mission – to give reassurance, prevent escalation, and protect the foundations of our economy.
And here at home, we can secure vital industries and supply chains, smash through the barriers to growth, and double down on investment and opportunity in every part of the UK.
That includes going further on planning reform, backing business in critical sectors, doing trade deals around the world, and crucially, deepening our economic relationship with the EU.
This is not about ideology, it’s about what makes us stronger as a nation.
Let’s face it – the world has changed fundamentally since 2016.
We can see now that Brexit has damaged the economy.
So there’s no doubt in my mind where the national interest lies today, and that is in closer economic ties with Europe.
I will be driving this forward with leaders at the European Political Community meeting in the coming days.
Secure, homegrown energy
Second, we are going to go further on energy security.
We cannot continue with a situation where every family in Britain looks at their energy bill each winter and sees it rise because of a war or conflict they did not want, did not vote for, and are not involved in – but are still forced to pay for.
So, we are going to change that.
Again – this isn’t ideological.
It is about taking back control of our energy, and our bills, and putting the pedal to the floor on homegrown clean energy.
Delivering large scale infrastructure – including wind power – using the brilliant turbine blades that we make here, as well as also more consumer-friendly options.
Whether that’s supporting households on insulation, batteries or plug-in solar panels.
Everything is on the table.
We have to be big and bold to get this right.
Because we have to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices.
It turns the stomach to see energy companies reporting record profits while everyone else struggles on.
That’s why I campaigned for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
Many said we should get rid of it.
Instead, we increased it.
Because it simply cannot be right that energy giants fill their pockets while working people pay the price.
I say it again – not on our watch.
A moment for strength
Third – and most fundamentally – we need to go further on defence and security.
That starts at home.
I set out this week the steps we are taking to keep our communities safe and secure – surging resources into policing – but also tackling the root causes throughout society.
Going after the peddlers of hate with everything we have, and raising our defences to forces outside the UK who try to foment unrest on our streets, target our society, our infrastructure and our allies.
We’re already delivering the biggest sustained investment in British defence since the Cold War.
And in the coming weeks, we will set out how we are going to go further and faster.
Radical change to meet a radically changed world.
That includes working more closely with our partners to strengthen the European element of NATO, and working together now to coordinate more.
And, to build the formidable productive power and innovative strength that we need.
British companies already account for over a quarter of the continent’s defence industrial base.
They are a job-creating, community-building machine.
So our aim is to build a shared industrial base across our continent, with British industry at the heart.
A stronger Britain
Radical action on economic security.
Homegrown energy security.
Defence security, and safe, secure communities.
That is what we need to take control of our destiny in a chaotic world.
That is what we will deliver.
Creating a stronger Britain, with a future where people have more opportunities, more control of their lives, and greater optimism about their future.
That’s what we are working to create.
That’s why we are the first government in generations to bring in new rights for workers and renters.
The first in generations to raise taxes of vested interests so we can cut NHS waiting lists and reduce child poverty.
The first to reject the declinism that Britain can’t build and make things anymore.
And we will go further.
I want to build a country where every child can go as far as their talent will allow – whatever that talent may be – because I truly believe the everyone has something to offer.
That can’t happen if you’re growing up in poverty.
It can’t happen if the schools aren’t good enough, if the streets aren’t safe, or if your community is surrounded by hate.
It can’t happen if the opportunities aren’t there, or if we don’t value apprenticeships and technical skills.
Fixing this is what drives me forward every single day.
I’m talking too about a country where people feel pride in where they live. Their school, their high street, their local park – their local team.
I have always believed that people with skin in the game make better decisions about their community and their future.
And so we’ll back communities to build houses people need and can afford.
To create the great businesses and the great jobs people need.
To build the sports facilities and youth centres they need.
To bring communities together around all these things that we share, not look for ways to tear us apart.
I’m also talking about a country where we are not passive in our values of decency, tolerance and respect, but proud of them.
And ready to stand up for them.
If this is the country we want, it is the responsibility of every one of us to realise it.
We will seize this moment together
So yes, the world is a tougher place than it has been for decades.
Yes, there are crises to face and challenges to meet.
But there is no greater country on earth, and no country more able to step up in these moments than the United Kingdom.
I understand the impacts of global events can start to chip away at us.
But we won’t let that happen.
If we are prepared as a nation, and as a people, to stand up, to fight, and to play our part – to show that unique British spirit as we have in the past – then we will seize this moment, together.
That is how we will create a Britain that is truly built for all.
Thank you.
Keir.