Keir Starmer swiped at Whitehall’s tolerance of ‘managed decline’ in Britain today as he attempted to ‘reset’ his struggling government.
The Prime Minister delivered a speech at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire where he outlined six key ‘milestones’ that he believes the Labour party should achieve by the next election in 2029.
During his address, he issued a challenge to civil servants, stating that the ‘gauntlet was being thrown down’. In an apparent comparison to Donald Trump’s slogan, Sir Keir emphasized that there was no ‘swamp to be drained’ but criticized the complacency of many individuals in Whitehall who he believes are too comfortable with the notion of managed decline.
Sir Keir emphasized his commitment to enhancing living standards, reducing NHS waiting times, constructing 1.5 million new homes, and increasing the number of police officers on the streets as part of an essential initiative. As per the proposal, each community will have access to a designated local officer for direct communication.
Ensuring children are prepared to start school and decarbonisation of energy are also on his list, intended to make it easier to judge progress on his five ‘missions’.
However, Sir Keir is not setting any targets for reducing immigration or a timetable for increasing defence spending.
He has also been accused of sidelining Labour’s flagship manifesto pledge to deliver the fastest growing economy in the G7 – which looks doomed to failure as the US and Canada are surging ahead.
And he appears to have watered down a key commitment to make the power grid net zero by 2030, instead suggesting it will be ’95 per cent clean power’.
The premier was introduced by his deputy Angela Rayner, who said she was ‘proud’ that ‘change has already begun’.
Sir Keir kicked off his speech by joking that if he kept coming to Pinewood he could be the next James Bond.
He acknowledged that people would say ‘we’ve heard these before’ and ask ‘where’s the rabbit out of the hat’, but stressed the milestones are ‘measurable’.
‘One thing the British people know in their bones is that this is a great nation,’ he said.
‘This plan will land on desks across Whitehall with the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down.’
The PM is using a speech at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire to unveil six ‘milestones’ that Labour should have achieved by the time of the next election in 2029
The PM used a speech at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire to unveil six ‘milestones’ that Labour should have achieved by the time of the next election in 2029
The premier was introduced by his deputy Angela Rayner , who said she was ‘proud’ that ‘change has already begun’
Each neighbourhood will be able to contact a named local police officer, under the proposals (stock image)
Sir Keir has been accused of sidelining Labour’s flagship manifesto pledge to deliver the fastest growing economy in the G7 – which looks doomed to failure as the US and Canada are surging ahead. Pictured, the latest OECD forecasts for UK growth
In a document published alongside his speech, the Prime Minister listed a series of ‘milestones’ he pledged to achieve over the course of this Parliament on the way to fulfilling the ‘missions’ he set for himself before the election.
Chief among them was a promise to deliver higher living standards by the next election, saying growth must be ‘felt by everyone, everywhere’ while insisting his long-term ‘aim’ was to make the UK the fastest-growing G7 economy.
That seems to be a slight backtrack from his position at the election.
Writing in the foreword to his ‘plan for change’, Sir Keir promised ‘a relentless focus on the priorities of working people’, backed by ‘a new approach to wealth creation’.
He said there must be honesty about the ‘trade-offs’ required to achieve his aims.
He wrote: ‘We know, after the sacrifices people made during the past 14 years, that it will be hard for working people to hear politicians ask them to come together for their country again.
‘But the need for change is urgent. And it must be met.’
Alongside his ‘milestone’ on living standards, measured by real disposable income and GDP per head, Sir Keir’s plan promises to ensure that 92 per cent of patients wait no longer than 18 months for NHS treatment, there is a named police officer for every neighbourhood, 75 per cent of children start school with a good level of development, and to put the country on track to achieve at least 95 per cent low-carbon power generation by 2030.
There is no goal on immigration – either legal or illegal – but the document said: ‘We will restore order to the immigration system, reducing net migration from the record high levels seen in recent years by reforming our approach to the labour market, addressing skills shortages here in the UK, and clamping down on employers who exploit the visa system.’
Asked about the absence of a target on migration, Sir Keir said a ‘serious plan’ rather than ‘gimmicks’. ‘We are going to drive down migration both legal and illegal.’
On Channel boats, he insisted the ‘only way to make it work is to smash the gangs’.
Polling suggests public enthusiasm for Labour has nosedived since his landslide in July.
Ipsos found 53 per cent of voters have been ‘disappointed’ with the Government’s performance while just 19 per cent are ‘pleased’.
Disaffection is even greater among older voters, millions of whom have been stripped of winter fuel payment, with 74 per cent of over-55s saying the Government has made a poor start.
Touring broadcast studios this morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was grilled on why Sir Keir needed what the Tories have branded an ’emergency relaunch’ after just five months in office.
‘The Prime Minister is setting out today the plan for change and these really major milestones, that they capture the priorities for people across the country, the things that we’re determined need to change over the next few years,’ she said.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘Before the election, we set out the big missions for the country.
‘In my area, that was around making the streets safer, around reducing serious violence and also restoring confidence in policing.
‘But now what we’re doing, after the Budget and the spending review, is setting out ‘what does that mean in terms of the real major milestones, the difference that we want people to see in their own communities, in their own towns’?.
Sir Keir will give further details on how Labour will meet its pledge to recruit 13,000 new neighbourhood officers, including police community support officers and special constables.
Ms Cooper told Sky News: ‘We’re putting forward, next year, an additional £100 million for police forces. Also we have a major programme around policing efficiency and collaboration across forces that will also generate further savings.
‘But this is the plan over the course of this Parliament, the 13,000 over the course of this Parliament. That £100 million is sufficient to fund recruitment of around 1,200 new police officers.
‘But we’ll be working with police forces on how they actually make the most of that and get the impact of that, drawing in additional officers to get them back on to the beat because I think the reality of most people’s experience is very often in the town centres, they just don’t see the police anymore.
‘And we want to make that focus getting the police back on the beat, working in communities, restoring neighbourhood policing, which is something really important and precious for Britain, which we’ve lost for too many years.’
The Labour manifesto had previously suggested a commitment to zero-carbon power by 2030
Sir Keir is not setting any targets for reducing immigration
The PM said in his speech: ‘Hard-working Brits … reasonably want a stable economy, their country to be safe, their borders secure, more cash in their pocket, safer streets in their town, opportunities for their children, secure British energy in their home, and an NHS that is there when they need it.
‘My mission-led Government will deliver.’
Alongside boosting growth, Labour’s missions were: making Britain a ‘clean energy superpower’; rebuilding the NHS; tackling crime and ‘taking back our streets’; and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
Sir Keir is expected to put some flesh on the bones today, including a ‘neighbourhood policing guarantee’ which will introduce a named, contactable police officer for every community in Britain.
