After a rocky first five months in power, Starmer is scrambling to win back public favour as he lags behind in the polls. In his “Plan for Change” speech this morning, he’s set to unveil six shiny new “milestones” hung around his “missions” from 2023. Hint: border control isn’t one of them…
Rayner is introducing this morning. Communications have broken down over whether the pledge to become the fastest growing economy in the G7 is still live after various counter-briefings and Starmer’s refusal to repeat the pledge at PMQs yesterday. Messy…
So far there are three foundations, six first steps for change, five missions, seven pillars of growth, and six milestones. And breathe…
The six milestones are:
- Raising living standards in every part of UK, measured through higher real household disposable income. Britain to be the fastest-growing economy in the G7 now an aim not a pledge – it also no longer has a timeframe…
- 1.5 million new homes.
- Ending NHS backlogs, with 92% of patients in England to wait no longer than 18 weeks for treatment.
- Hire 13,000 new police officers.
- Give children the “best start in life”, promising a quarter of 5 year-olds to be ready to learn when they start school.
- Make Britain a clean energy power. But only 95% clean by 2030, watering down the manifesto pledge…
Starmer also pledges 150 new infrastructure projects in this parliament. He rages too at Whitehall and the public sector’s productivity death: “Too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline.” The PM says he won’t tolerate putting up taxes to pay for sluggish public services. Guido remembers fondly when Starmer told the NHS to ‘reform or die’ before handing it £22.6 billion with no provisos…
On migration Starmer says it’s the “foundational stone” – the “basic security” – for the five missions and six milestones to sit on top of. Eh?
Guido also invites co-conspirators to play a game of spot the difference:
Is Starmer also going to pledge to reach 100 resets by the next election?
Lord Khan in the Telegraph: “I hope, and I say this in a non-pompous way, that the public service I do will bring rewards in this world and the hereafter,” he says. “I’m hoping the work I do is earning me Brownie points.”
