If George Orwell were alive today, he would be nodding grimly at the spectacle unfolding before us.
In his first address to the Labour Party conference since becoming Prime Minister, Keir Starmer laid bare a vision for Britain that can only be described as a blueprint for an Orwellian state, dressed up in the garb of modern governance.
Starmer, who just a few months ago assured us he would “tread more lightly on your lives,” has now invoked the very Brexit-era slogan, “take back control,” to justify a raft of proposals that would see the state meddling in every aspect of our lives. From energy to education, and even our beloved British pubs, he is on a “mission” to tighten the government’s grip on society like never before.
From energy to education, and even our beloved British pubs, he is on a “mission” to tighten the government’s grip on society like never before.
His speech, peppered with the words “control” and “uncontrolled” a staggering 15 times, was an alarming indicator of what is to come. Starmer’s rhetoric about “reclaiming control” is nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to impose his nanny state vision on the nation. This is not about empowering communities; it is about centralising power, with Sir Keir at the helm.
He waxed lyrical about reining in the so-called chaos of the free market and warned of “trade-offs” the public would have to accept. Translation: get ready for higher taxes, more regulations, and greater state intervention. His call for more government control over the NHS, energy, justice, education, and even the economy itself is a chilling prospect that smacks of the worst kind of paternalism.
Take, for instance, his comments on asylum seekers. He claimed that the same system used to curb illegal migration would also be used to grant asylum—a classic case of bureaucratic double-speak if ever there was one. And then there’s his so-called “solution” to the energy crisis: erecting new pylons across the countryside, regardless of public opposition, because, according to Starmer, “the burden on taxpayers is too much.” How wonderfully democratic of him!
Starmer’s obsession with “control” does not stop at the macro level. Oh no! He’s determined to dictate the minutiae of our lives as well. Banning smoking in pub gardens and threatening to shut down our local watering holes earlier—these are just the beginning. What’s next? Will Labour be policing our grocery lists or monitoring our screen time?
Banning smoking in pub gardens and threatening to shut down our local watering holes earlier—these are just the beginning. What’s next? Will Labour be policing our grocery lists or monitoring our screen time?
The former Sir Keir—the supposed champion of moderation and pragmatism—has now morphed into a self-styled commander-in-chief of a new Labour leviathan, wielding the state’s apparatus to mould society according to his own vision. This is not the Britain that voted to “take back control” from Brussels, only to hand it over to Whitehall mandarins.
And what is most concerning is the rhetoric underpinning his agenda. Starmer wants us to believe that a larger, more interventionist state is the solution to our woes. This is nothing less than an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes, to convince us that we must sacrifice freedom and autonomy for the illusion of order and control.
Senior Conservatives and Reform UK have rightly sounded the alarm, warning that Starmer’s proposals amount to a “command-and-control economy.” Robert Jenrick hit the nail on the head when he said that Starmer “can’t control his own party, let alone a command-and-control economy.” Indeed, this is a man who speaks of empowering the public while simultaneously plotting to shackle them with more red tape and regulation.
In his bid to reclaim the Brexit slogan, Starmer may be attempting to curry favour with disillusioned Reform UK voters. But those who championed Brexit did so in the hope of reducing the state’s overreach, not expanding it. What Sir Keir is offering is not the “control” they sought, but a creeping authoritarianism that would make even Orwell’s Big Brother blush.
What Sir Keir is offering is not the “control” they sought, but a creeping authoritarianism that would make even Orwell’s Big Brother blush.
So, as we listen to Starmer’s grand proclamations about reform and control, let us be clear-eyed about what he truly means: more taxes, more government intervention, and less freedom for all of us.
This is a battle for the soul of Britain, and we must not allow it to be fought and lost without a fight. The state must serve the people, not subjugate them. And that is a principle worth defending against this Orwellian tide.
Claire Bullivant, Editor
Claire is the founder and editor of the Conservative Post and was a co-founder of the Conservative Democratic Organisation.
