Labour's Keir Starmer in Crawley to discuss cost of living crisis

He was shown around the Apple Tree Centre Crawley Sanatan Mandir run by the Gurjar Hindu Union in Ifield Avenue, heard about its history and activities taking place there as well as speaking to members of the community.

His visit comes on the heels of strong local election performances for Labour in Crawley and Worthing but at the same time as a disappointing set of results in Hastings.

Inflation is soaring in the UK with many households already struggling with the rising cost of petrol, household energy and food.

Asked what action his party would take if they were in power, Mr Stamer said: “An emergency budget straight away to reverse some of the damaging decisions this government has taken and the first thing we’d reverse is the increase on tax on working people in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

"That would be the short-term answer, the government could do that this week or next if they actually had the will to try and sort this problem out.

"But the underlying problem is that the economy has been stagnant for 12 years, that’s the cause of this cost of living crisis and so we have ended up with high inflation, high tax, low wages and low growth. That’s the toxic combination of 12 years of a Tory government have brought around and that’s why we need a totally different approach to the economy.”

Following last week’s rail strike, more and more workers could be considering industrial action as pay increases fail to keep up with inflation.

Mr Starmer said: “People are frustrated and struggling to make ends meet and I completely understand that frustration, I’ve heard that again first hand today.

"What I want to see is a situation where the government recognises that, encourages all those in negotiations around the table so we can actually resolve some of these issues. The strikes don’t resolve these issues and nobody wants to see them going ahead, but the underlying issue is not just the resolution of these pay disputes it’s actually about ensuring we have a strong, secure and inclusive economy.”