Tories accused of sabotaging good causes that could help stop the boats

21 January 2024 , 22:30

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Keir Starmer will accuse the Tories of helping to demonise the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (file image)

Keir Starmer will today accuse the Tories of sabotaging good causes in a "desperate" and "divisive" culture war.

The Labour leader will say ministers have been "waging a war on the proud spirit of service in this country" by picking fights with organisations doing good across the UK. These include the National Trust and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) - which he says can help tackle the small boats crisis.

He will tell community and faith leaders that the Government has been intent on creating an "in it for yourself" culture at the expense of groups doing good work. He is expected to state: “The Tories seem set on sabotaging civil society to save their own skins. They got themselves so tangled up in culture wars of their own making, that instead of working with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – an organisation the late Queen was patron of for 70 years - to find real solutions to stop the small boats, their rhetoric has helped demonise them."

And he will tell the Civil Society Summit that rather than working with the National Trust to help people learn about and celebrate British history, the Government has instead tried to "demean their work". Mr Starmer will state: "In its desperation to cling onto power, at all costs. The Tory Party is trying to find woke agendas in the very civic institutions they once regarded with respect.

“Let me tell you waging a war on the proud spirit of service in this country isn’t leadership. It’s desperate. It’s divisive. It’s damaging."

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He will vow to work with community groups , telling leaders: “We know it’s people on the ground with skin in the game who best understand Britain’s problems and have the best answers. You are the glue that bridges the gaps and binds business, government, and communities together.

"You reach into the places that the public and private sectors can’t. Creating the space for people to come together."

RNLI volunteers have described the "vile" abuse they've experienced from far-right thugs for rescuing asylum seekers from the Channel. Critics have accused the Government of fanning the flames of hatred in its language about immigration.

And high-profile Tories including former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg have been critical of the National Trust, accusing it of promoting "woke" causes. These include a reassessment of properties' colonial histories.

Dave Burke