Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has slammed the 'incompetence' of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government for leading to the possibility of a second lockdown in a railroading speech to party members.
In a virtual address to the party conference - which is online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic - he criticised the UK for having "one of the highest death rates in the world" from coronavirus.
Sir Keir said a second national lockdown would be a “sign of government failure, not an act of God” that would take an “immense toll” on public health and the economy.
Speaking from Doncaster, the Labour leader said: “The warnings yesterday from the government’s advisers were stark. They can’t be ignored.
“Labour will act in the national interest. We will be a constructive opposition. We will support whatever reasonable steps are necessary to save lives and protect our NHS.
“But I also want to say this: There should be nothing inevitable about a second lockdown.
“It would be a sign of government failure, not an act of God. It would take an immense toll on people’s physical and mental health and on the economy. We need a national effort to prevent a national lockdown.”
And the Labour leader said he wants to build a nation "in which we put family first."
"I think Britain has so much yet to achieve. And it angers me that this government is holding us back," he said.
"I've tried to be constructive. I appreciate that these are unprecedented times and that governing is difficult.
"I've tried to be fair, to give the government the benefit of the doubt.
"But now, with one of the highest death rates in the world, and on the threshold of one of the deepest recessions anywhere, I'm afraid there is no doubt.
"This government's incompetence is holding Britain back."
He went on to pinpoint "under funding of the NHS” and the “abandonment of social care” by the Conservatives for failing to prepare the nation for the coronavirus crisis.
The Labour leader added: “First, if you neglect your public services, you won’t be ready when a crisis hits. Nobody blames the government for the existence of the virus.
“But the under funding of the NHS, the abandonment of social care and the lack of investment in prevention, that’s all on their watch. That’s all down to them.
“And it always ends this way with Tory governments: Public services are neglected, cut back, and left to decline. For a party called the Conservative Party, they don’t seem to conserve very much.”
