PRITI PATEL: Five years under Sir Keir Starmer will take us back 50 years to the 1970s

Some of my earliest political memories come from the late 1970s. I was young then, but I remember my parents, who ran a successful small business, telling me about the strikes that brought Britain to a standstill.

At the time, the unions were holding the Labour government of James Callaghan hostage with their huge pay demands. Britain was paralysed under the weight of the pressure because the Labour government was not prepared to say “no” to their pay demands.

There was no garbage collection in the streets, no burials, and public services came to a standstill as unions demanded more and more.

We knew then that whenever the government gave in to the unions, they would be emboldened to come back for more. Now, as we will soon see, that is still the case.

It is clear that Keir Starmer’s socialist government has not learned from the past. It has already shown that it will too easily give in to radical unions who will never stop asking for more money – making unions think they have a blank cheque to beg for more.

Look at Labour’s disastrous plans to bow to the unrealistic demands of the Aslef rail union. For almost two years the train drivers’ union has held Britain in check. We have had 18 days of disruption to travel and unreliability, causing chaos on our railways. They have prevented people from getting to school or work, and the economic cost has been astronomical.

No responsible government would give in to Aslef’s unattainable demands.

She would stand up to the union and push for reform agreements that would help modernise and improve rail services, delivering more value for passengers and taxpayers.

But the weak Sir Keir and the Labour Party didn’t even put up a fight. And what reward did they get? More strikes from the very union they had just surrendered to – and threats of industrial action from other unions concerned that their members had not received such a generous reward.

Sadly, this will only be the tip of the iceberg. We have seen Labour take away winter fuel allowances from millions of vulnerable pensioners with one hand – brazenly blaming the previous government – ​​while handing out a 22 per cent pay rise to junior doctors with the other. More and more unions will be begging for more money.

What Labour have done is to go down a very slippery slope. They are telling the unions that this government is not strong enough to say no. They will continue to hold Sir Keir to account with unreasonable pay demands while undermining the services the British public receive.

And as the Mail revealed this week, the unions have Labour in their pocket, having already backed more than half of Sir Keir’s MPs in his election fight with donations to boost campaign funds.

The socialist agenda of the Labour government is now clear for all to see, with ministers deliberately handing out billions in taxpayers’ payday loans with no regard for the reduced quality of public services the British public will receive in return.

This immoral, big-state government will remind people that socialism never works – but it comes at a price: loss of freedom and choice.

Whether it is parents being punished by taxes on school fees from a vindictive Labour government, or businesses fearing new taxes and red tape, no country can thrive if its economy and social structure are controlled by the state.

It is sucking the life out of the economy, undermining productivity and killing any sense of aspiration. With emboldened unions, higher taxes and the loss of our freedoms, under Labour we are heading straight back to the 1970s.

Just five years of Starmer’s government will set Britain back 50 years.