Shorouk Express
Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer sets out Labour’s plan to save taxpayers £45 billion during a major speech today (13 March).
The prime minister has vowed to to fight the “overcautious and flabby” British state, promising root and branch reform of the civil service.
Ahead of his speech today, Sir Keir made the stark admission that record tax and spending in recent years has not led to improvement in front-line services.
Writing in The Telegraph, the prime minister described the civil service as “overstretched, unfocused and unable to deliver the security people need today.”
Speaking on Thursday, the prime minister is expected to hail a “£45 billion jackpot” from digitalising government services, linked to announcements over the weekend about reforming Whitehall to cut costs.
In a worrying sign for many civil servants, he will insist that jobs should not exist if artificial intelligence (AI) or computers can do them better.
Sir Keir will hail a “new era” in government operations and while ministers have refused to set a target on how many jobs may be scrapped, his words suggest a potential major reduction.
