Sir Keir Starmer will warn that life in Britain will “get worse before it gets better” in his first major speech since becoming prime minister.

He wants to step up attacks on the Conservatives in the week before parliament returns from a shortened summer recess, saying things are “worse than we ever imagined”.

Sir Keir will say: ‘We have inherited not just an economic black hole, we have inherited a social black hole. And that is why we need to take action and do things differently.

“Part of that is being honest with people — about the choices we face. And how difficult this is going to be. Honestly — it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Since coming to power in July, Labour has been highlighting the challenges it faces in government and blaming the Conservatives for failing to address them before the election.

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, raised the issue in her statement before the summer recess, accusing the Conservatives of blowing a £22 billion hole in this year’s budget.

Sir Keir is expected to expand on this line of attack on Tuesday: ‘In the first few weeks we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

‘And let no one say that this is a performative game or a political game.

‘The OBR didn’t know about this. They wrote a letter saying that. They didn’t know – because the previous government covered it up.’

He will also raise the issue of the wider public sector, saying that those involved in the recent riots were able to exploit “the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure”, including the lack of prison places.

One of the first acts of the Labour government was to reduce the percentage of sentences that convicts had to spend in prison before they could be released on parole. According to Labour, the previous government had left prisons almost full.

He’ll say, ‘Not having enough prison space is about as fundamental a failure as you can get. And those people who were throwing rocks, burning cars, making threats — they didn’t just know the system was broken. They were gambling with it. They were gaming it.’

The Prime Minister will argue that change will not happen “overnight” and is also expected to say that Labour has “achieved more in seven weeks than the previous government did in seven years”. Among other things, he will set up a National Prosperity Fund, change planning policy to build more homes and end public sector strikes.

Sir Keir’s speech comes ahead of a potentially difficult period for the Government as it prepares its first budget, due on October 30.

Ms Reeves faces the challenge of delivering on Labour’s tax and spending promises, having already said the financial situation is worse than she expected, with tax rises looking increasingly likely.

The government also faces the prospect of a new rebellion over its plans to limit the winter fuel supplement to only the poorest pensioners, especially in light of Friday’s announcement to raise the cap on energy prices.

The Chancellor has argued this is necessary to plug the £22bn gap in this year’s Budget, but opposition parties and some Labour backbenchers have warned of the consequences for pensioners on incomes just above the threshold for claiming pension credit.

But given the government’s large majority, it is unlikely to suffer defeat when the policy comes to a vote in the House of Commons.

Richard Fuller, chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “In just two months in office, Keir Starmer has already deprived 10 million pensioners of winter fuel payments, pumped billions of taxpayers’ money into his union bosses and is now embroiled in a cronyism scandal after luring donors and supporters into top taxpayer-funded jobs.

‘The soft Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer is wasting money and creating a financial black hole in an attempt to convince the public to accept tax rises. Pensioners are literally being left out in the cold.

‘The prime minister should really tell his chancellor to reconsider her decision, or intervene himself to reverse her decision.’

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