Earlier this month, former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane warned the government’s approach had generated “fear and foreboding” and uncertainty among consumers, businesses and investors.
In an interview with the in New York, where the PM is attending a United Nations summit, he was asked if the negative language used by government ministers in the past few months “talks the country down”.
In response Sir Keir said: “No, that’s not right. We have to have an accurate diagnosis of what the problem is, and then our job is to say, what are we going to do about it?”
Repeating one of the key messages of his speech to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, Sir Keir said his government was taking “difficult decisions”.
“The purpose of the difficult decisions is to make sure we grow the economy, living standards, everyone better off. Our public services back properly functioning, an NHS that’s on its feet,” he added.
Pressed over whether the government’s messaging could be making the situation worse, Sir Keir said: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that anybody seriously would argue that the NHS is going gangbusters.”
The PM was also asked about reports of growing unease in the health service over the government’s messaging that the NHS is “broken”.
Senior NHS sources told the they believe some of the claims have gone too far – and may result in patients being put off seeking help and cause lasting damage to staff morale.
Sir Keir said he understood the messaging was “difficult” for staff but he blamed the Conservatives for leaving confidence and satisfaction in the NHS at “an all-time low”.
He added that the NHS was “broken but not beaten”.
