The fact that in his opinion it left a deep imprint on its economic course, the British Prime Minister repeated in his statements in which he tried to defend the proposal presented by his government. Starmer stressed that a more realistic and mature approach was needed to restore closer ties with the European Union and said that strengthening cooperation with Brussels was necessary, even if this required compromises.
His remarks came days after it was announced that London-EU talks on the UK’s participation in the European defense industry support programme, SAFE, had failed to reach an agreement, as the financial terms sought by the EU were deemed too onerous.
Starmer focused on the state of the welfare state
In his speech, the British prime minister also referred extensively to the domestic economic landscape, arguing that the welfare state needs an immediate overhaul. According to him, the existing framework “traps” many citizens – especially younger ones – in both poverty and unemployment, creating a vicious cycle of dependency that can extend for generations and burden the country’s economic activity.
Starmer called the new budget “a reason to be proud”, stressing that it seeks to reduce child poverty while maintaining market confidence. Among the measures is the abolition of the two-child limit for benefits, as well as tax increases to boost household income. The Conservatives, however, accuse Finance Minister Rachel Reeves of artificially “shadowing” the picture of public finances to justify the tax hikes — something the government denies.
At the same time, the prime minister admitted that growth remains insufficient, announcing measures to ease regulatory restrictions on businesses at a time when the business world is reacting to recent increases in employer contributions.
