Keir Starmer: Labour will bulldoze barriers to British success

Labour would "bulldoze through barriers to British success", party leader Sir Keir Starmer has said in a speech to businesses in north-east England.

The Labour leader vowed to change planning rules and further education in a bid to boost economic growth.

He said next week's King's Speech - in which the government will set out its plans for the coming months - should be used to kick off a "big build".

Sir Keir has faced questions all week about splits in his party over Gaza.

However, he sought to use his visit to the North East Chamber of Commerce to refocus attention on his plans for the economy.

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His speech reinforced the message he delivered at his party's conference last month, where he sought to portray Labour as the party that would "get Britain building again".

Speaking on Friday, he said there were "countless examples" of projects in the UK being delayed due to planning restrictions.

He pointed to the Sizewell C nuclear power station which he said had "40,000 pages of its planning application devoted to data on the environment and yet it's been held up in the courts on account of a 'failure to assess the environmental impact'".

He added that the Thames Tunnel in east London had "a planning application 30 times longer than the complete works of Shakespeare".

"Back in the 50s and 60s, we built the backbone of our entire motorway system, in less time than it's taken to talk about the turning of that stretch of the A1 into a dual carriageway," he added.

To speed up planning, Sir Keir said he would introduce "consequences for councils who drag their feet" and changes to judicial reviews.

"Wherever we find barriers to British success - we will bulldoze through them," he said.

"Whatever it takes - we will find a way. No stone unturned. No detail overlooked. No fight ducked."

On further education, he reiterated his party's promise to introduce technical excellence colleges aimed at training workers for local industries.

As an example he said such colleges in Tees Valley could train welders in order to fill a skills shortage in the region.

Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands accused Sir Keir of making "empty promises".

"If his own team can openly defy him, how could he possibly persuade MPs to vote for the difficult long-term decisions that the country needs?" he said.

Ceasefire calls

Following the speech, the Labour leader faced a series of questions from reporters on the divisions in his own party over Gaza.

Two Labour council leaders in Burnley and Pendle have called on Sir Keir to resign for his refusal to call for a ceasefire in the region.

A growing number of Labour MPs are also calling for Sir Keir to back an immediate ceasefire, while more than 30 councillors have resigned from the party over its position on the conflict.

Sir Keir, who has instead called for a humanitarian pause, said: "My focus is on alleviating the awful suffering of all of those that are caught up in the situation that has developed over the last few weeks.

"Whatever the individual positions of members of my party, that is not my focus. My focus is in driving forward to make sure that all of us can take responsibility for ensuring that we do what we can to alleviate that situation."

He said a humanitarian pause was the "only practical way" to do this.