Watch as Keir Starmer gives speech on growth plan amid Labour split on ceasefire

Watch as Sir Keir Starmer delivers a speech in Durham on Friday 3 November.

The Labour leader warned that the King’s Speech will be a “manifesto for stagnation” as he accused Rishi Sunak of overseeing economic decline.

Sir Keir, who has faced dissent in his party over his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, called for a “big build” to revive the sluggish economy during his visit to Durham.

Addressing businesses at the North East Chamber of Commerce, he said: “Britain needs this King’s Speech to kick off a big build.

“We have to provide the businesses, communities and people of this nation with the conditions to succeed. A fundamental deal, that we serve the country, while you drive it forward.

“The Tories can’t do this. Rishi Sunak is too weak to stand up to the blockers on his backbenches. Too haunted by ghosts of Conservative imagination to see the country’s problems as you see them.”

Mr Sunak has said the King’s Speech, which is expected to set the tone for a general election next year, will focus on measures to “grow the economy, to strengthen society and to keep people safe”.