Starmer is talking bollocks.
There is no need for a round of further Tory austerity. There are many ways of raising the necessary billions, if only he and Reeves could ditch their craven adherence to neoliberal ideology and 'fiscal rectitude'.

They could start by taxing capital gains at the same rate as income tax and restricting pension tax relief to the basic rate. This would more than cover their fictional £22bn black hole.

#LabourAusterity #UKPolitics

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/aug/24/keir-starmer-warns-of-tough-times-ahead-to-fix-tory-ruins

Keir Starmer warns of tough times ahead to fix ‘Tory ruins’

Labour leader tells working people rot left by Conservatives is so much worse than imagined and improvement won’t happen overnight

^{Toby Helm (The Guardian)}