Sir Keir Starmer: Labour and Civil Society Summit speech

23rd January 2024

How important is the Voluntary Community Social Enterprise sector is in building a strong economy?

At this weeks Labour and Civil Society Summit, Keir Starmer has pledged to ‘reset’ the relationship between government and charities and announced his vision for a ‘society of service’. The leader of the opposition told a roomful of charity representatives today that “for too long, your voice has been ignored”.

“This is a once in a generation chance, a mission-led government, a partnership between government and civil society. Our door is open. We will welcome anyone who wants to make our national life better to take their place at the table to shape the future with us. And, I’ll be frank with you, it isn’t just an invitation to you – it’s an ask.”

Recognition that social economies play a key part in sustainable futures and support thriving communities…

Civil society is not just a nice news story in a local paper. It’s essential if we’re going to get our economy back on track and achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7:

• Look at the thousands of charities (BSSEC CIC add: #VCSE) supporting people back into work.
• The organisations facilitating local regeneration.
• Providing more than 6 million volunteering opportunities and employing almost a million people.

Excerpt from Sir Kier Starmer full keynote address from the Labour and Civil Society Summit… Read the full speech here.