Starmer makes further promises on the NHS and living standards.
In a significant address, Sir Keir Starmer outlined new promises to raise living standards and reduce NHS waiting times.
The prime minister outlined six targets related to the economy, housing, health care, law enforcement, and early childhood education, asserting that his “plan for change” would empower the British people to hold us accountable.
He described meeting the goals over the next five years as “an almighty challenge,” characterizing the strategy as “ambitious.”
The Conservatives, meanwhile, criticized Sir Keir for failing to set a “concrete” immigration target and charged him with weakening a prior pledge to decarbonize the electrical grid.
The goals, referred to as “milestones” by the administration, provide further information on how Labour intends to fulfill the five “missions” outlined in its election manifesto.
By 2029, when the next election is anticipated, the administration hopes to have reached the following six “milestones”:
As part of the government’s plan to deliver the highest sustained economic growth in the G7 group of wealthy nations, the UK is building 1.5 million homes and expediting planning decisions on at least 150 major infrastructure projects. This will end hospital backlogs and help the NHS reach its goal of 92% of patients in England waiting no more than 18 weeks for planned treatment. Each neighbourhood in England and Wales will have a named police officer, with 13,000 additional officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), and special constables hired. This will increase the percentage of children in England who are “ready to learn” when they start school at age five to 75%, putting the nation on track to have at least 95% clean power by 2030.
Some of the pledges reiterate previous commitments, such as the construction of 1.5 million homes and the hiring of more police officers.
However, they outline the administration’s priorities for the coming years.
Additionally, they aim to explain to people how a Labour government will benefit them individually.
The G7’s goal of achieving the highest sustained economic growth now includes raising living standards.
However, the government’s strategy simply states that it will be assessed by greater GDP per capita and real household disposable income (RHDI) in every region of the UK, without providing a particular numerical objective.
GDP is a measure of the size of the economy, whereas RHDI is what people have left over after paying taxes on their wages and benefits.
Both Reform UK and the Conservatives criticized Sir Keir for failing to include a migration milestone, with Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, saying the government had “no plan to control numbers.”.
The PM stated in his speech that the government would cut both legal and illicit, but he did not provide specific figures.
The prime minister responded to concerns from reporters by saying that while he was not deprioritizing the problem, the Conservatives’ “arbitrary” cap on migration did not work.
Addressing the smuggling groups operating behind tiny boat crossings was part of the government’s “serious plan” to reduce the numbers, he said.
Sir Keir continued by emphasizing the importance of border security as a “foundational principle” that all governments should uphold.
He also denied weakening his party’s earlier green energy pledge.
His new milestone establishes a target of “at least 95%” of the “zero-carbon electricity by 2030” that Labour pledged during the election campaign.
“In terms of where we need to get to on clean energy by 2030, it’s exactly the same as it always was,” Sir Keir stated.
“There’s always going to be a mix, but that is the pledge that we made two years ago.”
The speech “confirms that Labour had 14 years in opposition and still weren’t ready for government,” according to Badenoch, who called it an “emergency reset.”
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, stated, “People want real change instead of a government simply changing the goalposts.”
He said that it was “worrying” that there was no clear plan in place to guarantee that people could visit a general practitioner when they needed to, saying, “Pledging to bring down waiting lists while neglecting GP services is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
