Starmer makes new promises on living standards and NHS

Sir Keir Starmer has made fresh pledges to improve living standards and cut NHS waiting times in a major speech.

The Prime Minister said his “plan for change”, which includes six targets covering the economy, housebuilding, healthcare, policing and pre-school education, would “give the British people the power to hold our feet to the fire”.

He described the plan as “ambitious”, saying that achieving the target in the next five years would be “a huge challenge”.

However, the Conservatives criticized Sir Keir for not including “concrete” targets on immigration and accused him of reneging on a previous promise to decarbonise the electricity grid.

In his speech at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Sir Keir acknowledged that achieving his goals would require “trade-offs” and “difficult decisions”.

But he said that without priorities “nothing is distributed to you”.

Taking aim at the civil service, the PM said “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the lukewarm bath of managed decline”.

The targets – which the government is calling “milestones” – give more detail on how Labor plans to achieve the five “missions” set out in its election manifesto.

Six “Milestones”What the government is aiming to accomplish by 2029 when the next elections are likely to be held are:

• Raising living standards in every part of the UK, as part of the Government’s aim to deliver the highest sustained economic growth in the G7 group of wealthy nations
• Building 1.5 million homes in England and speeding up planning decisions on at least 150 major infrastructure projects
• Eliminating hospital backlogs to meet NHS target under which 92% of patients in England wait no more than 18 weeks for planned treatment.
• A designated police officer for every neighborhood in England and Wales, with the recruitment of 13,000 additional officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and special constables.
• The proportion of children who are “ready to learn” when they start school at age five in England is rising to 75%
• To bring the country on the path to at least 95% clean electricity by 2030

Some pledges, including hiring more police officers and building 1.5 million houses, reiterate existing commitments.

However, they do highlight areas the government wants to prioritize in the coming years.

It also aims to tell voters how they will personally benefit from a Labor government.

While the goal remains to secure the highest sustained economic growth in the G7, there is now also a promise to raise living standards.

However, the government’s plan does not put any specific numerical targets on this, only stating that it will be measured through higher real household disposable income (RHDI) and GDP per capita in every region of the UK.

RHDI is the amount of money people receive from their wages and benefits after paying taxes, while GDP is a measure of the size of the economy.

Sir Keir faced criticism from both the Conservatives and Reform UK for not including a milestone on migration, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claiming the government had “no plan to control the numbers”.

In his speech, the PM said without giving figures that the government would reduce both legal and illegal migration.

Responding to reporters’ questions afterward, the Prime Minister insisted he was not prioritizing the issue, but said imposing “arbitrary” limits on migration does not work under the Conservatives.

He said the government had a “serious plan” to reduce the numbers, including tackling smuggling gangs operating in small boats.

Sir Keir said border security was a “fundamental principle” that any government must meet, while saying his missions were “on top of that”.

He also refused to weaken his party’s previous commitment on green energy.

Labour’s election manifesto promised “zero-carbon electricity by 2030”, while their new milestone sets a target of “at least 95%”.

The government insisted that the two statements were consistent.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We originally made the choice when we launched the Clean Energy Mission that there would always be a strategic backup reserve of gas, and that always meant there would be a very small percentage, but there would still be a percentage. Gas.”

Badenoch described Sir Keir’s speech as an “emergency reset” which “confirms that Labor has been in opposition for 14 years and is still not ready to government”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said, “People want real change, not just a government setting targets”.

He said it is “worrying” that there is no clear plan in place to ensure people can see a GP when they need it, adding: “Promising to reduce waiting lists while ignoring GP services is just paying off Paul. “It’s like robbing Peter.”