Sir Keir Starmer has outlined six targets for his government to meet by the next general election in his “plan for change” – including building 1.5 million homes and slashing NHS waiting lists to levels not seen for a decade.
Thursday 5 December 2024 13:57, UK
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One of Sir Keir Starmer’s six milestones is to cut NHS waiting lists, getting them back down to a long-missed target of no more than 18 weeks between referral and treatment.
But our health correspondent Ashish Joshi says while waiting lists have indeed “grown and grown to record numbers”, critics will say the prime minister’s target is “all about optics”.
“He needs something tangible to show the public,” says Ashish, and shorter waiting lists would indeed be just that.
“But the warning from health leaders is there is no slack in the system.”
If all the focus goes on waiting lists, they fear “other parts of the health service are going to suffer”.
It’s creating “a bit of tension” between the PM and NHS bosses, who are waiting for the health secretary to unveil his big plans for reforming the health service in the spring.
But in the meantime, “it’s going to be another miserable winter for NHS staff and patients”.
There’s been some consternation over whether Labour’s plan to have “at least 95% of low carbon generation by 2030” for electricity generation is a watering down of its previous target.
Some say Labour promised 100% low carbon by 2030.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been quick to point to the party’s 2024 manifesto, which includes a promise to “maintain a strategic reserve of gas power”.
This, he says, accounts for the 5% non-low carbon generation by the end of the decade.
“The National Energy System Operator (Neso) a couple of weeks ago came out with their definition of what a clean power system was,” he said.
“They said 95% low-carbon, zero-carbon energy and that’s the definition we’re using.”
‘Starmer’s watered it down’
But the Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho has been pointing to Labour’s pre-election promise for the UK to run on 100% “clean and cheap power” by 2030.
This was contained in the “make Britain a clean energy superpower” paper and released before the manifesto.
Ms Coutinho said: “Labour promised 100% clean power. It’s still up on their website.
“Now Starmer’s watered it down to 95% because he knows he can’t cut bills by £300.”
The government was keen for this morning’s speech by the prime minister not to be seen as a “reset”, but our political editor Beth Rigby says laying out six milestones for the public to judge him on certainly feels like a “fresh start”.
Having been in power for five months, Beth says the PM’s personal poll ratings “are tanking” and the public “have not really got faith in this government delivering”.
Labour will be hoping clear goals like getting NHS waiting lists down to the target of 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and building 1.5 million more homes, will give them something to “show progress on” before the next general election.
With a “Reform resurgence” seemingly taking place, and Nigel Farage’s upstart party “really looking to lay into Labour at the local elections” in May 2025, Beth says the government “know they need an answer”.
A notable absentee
These are targets “the public can hold the PM’s feet to the fire over”, though the elephant in the room is the lack of a specific target on cutting legal and illegal immigration.
The PM certainly knows “how important migration is” to voters, and knows all too well the government must deliver.
But after years of the Tories setting numerical goals and falling well short every time, it appears Labour think that’s a bad strategy.
Now Sir Keir Starmer has finished his speech, the opposition parties have started releasing their responses.
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, claimed the prime minister was “simply moving the goalposts”.
He said it was “worrying” that there was no mention of how to shorten GP waiting lists.
A post on Kemi Badenoch’s social media account highlighted a number of areas – including a lack of anything “concrete” on immigration, and a watering down of Labour’s “costly” decarbonisation plan.
A Reform UK spokesperson similarly highlighted the lack of a milestone on immigration, and launched familiar attacks on tax rises, winter fuel and farming inheritance tax.
And the Green Party branded the prime minister’s announcements a “listicle” and lacking in ambition.
While Sir Keir Starmer was delivering his speech in front of cameras and journalists, a similar statement was made in the Commons.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden was the one to deliver the address, and subsequently got a thorough questioning from other MPs.
One point he was repeatedly pushed on is how the milestones announced today would be measured, and how often updates would be given.
But Mr McFadden was coy with the House, not giving a clear answer to how and when the government’s targets could be checked.
Tory frontbencher Alex Burghart was among those who asked Labour for a plan, as was senior Conservative Sir Gavin Williamson.
But there was little detail – with Mr McFadden saying at one point: “I am sure that the ministers in charge of these goals will keep the House regularly updated.”
Tories ‘shouldn’t be a hard act to follow’
In response to other questions – like whether the green energy target had been watered down, or if the government will undo a spending cut or tax rise – the minister gave variations on the same answers.
These being that Labour was taking the steps it had to due to the poor inheritance from the last government, and taking tough decisions in order to achieve their targets on growth.
For example, the Liberal Democrats’ Sarah Olney stated the Tories “shouldn’t exactly be a hard act to follow” – before adding people feel they aren’t being listened to by the current government with decisions like the national insurance hike for employers, the farming inheritance tax, and the removal of the winter fuel payment for millions.
In response, Mr McFadden says Ms Olney “seems to support extra spending but oppose all revenue raising” to pay for it.
Our deputy political editor Sam Coates says Sir Keir Starmer’s speech was an “important moment” for Downing Street – and there was a surprise.
Reacting to the “milestones” address, Sam says it’s a marked “refocus” on what the prime minister’s government is doing.
He adds: “What we’ve got is six milestones which [Keir Starmer] is pledging will be delivered by the end of the next parliament.
“He stresses he knows they are ambitious, that some of them may not be delivered, but we’ve got to try.
“He thinks that ambition hasn’t been high enough in the last few years, and he said he would focus on that, and he would ensure that Whitehall focuses on that.”
Sir Keir said too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid path of managed decline.
“On the economy, there is a surprise,” adds Sam.
“They have kept in the language about wanting Britain to be the fastest growing economy of any G7 nation.”
Some in government had told Sam that aim would be scrapped, but they’re “doubling down”.
Sir Keir Starmer is now asked how his “milestones” differ from former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak’s five pledges.
At the time, Sir Keir had accused Mr Sunak of choosing easy goals.
‘I’m not lacking ambition’
Hasn’t the prime minister just done the same thing?
The PM says: “On the ambition here, the 1.5 million homes, if we do that it’s to do something that hasn’t been done for decades.
“That’s really bold – not lacking ambition.
“It won’t happen, by the way, if we don’t make the change that we’ve spelt out. That’s how hard it is.”
He points to plans to bring waiting lists down by the end of this parliament when they stand at 7 million.
“That’s never been done before. That’s hardly unambitious,” he says.
“That’s hardly the warm bath that Rishi Sunak got into.”
Sir Keir says he doesn’t accept that these goals aren’t ambitious, saying they are “really risky” for Labour to put out there.
In a flurry of questions on the same topic, Sir Keir Starmer is asked once again about immigration.
A journalist from the Express says he still isn’t sure what the government’s plan is to tackle migration.
He asks if a norm of around 350,000 per year should be expected.
The prime minister says “the only way to tackle illegal migration effectively is to take down the gangs that are running it”.
He adds: “They are making a huge amount of money in order to put people on boats across the Channel, and we have to take them down.
“That’s why we’ve set up the border security command, that’s why we’re striking agreements with other countries, that’s why I’m investing a lot of my time face-to-face with leaders to make sure that law enforcement is co-ordinated.”
Sir Keir points out he has “done this before” by “collaborating and co-ordinating” when he was director of public prosecutions.
He says he doesn’t accept that the UK can deal with terrorist gangs, but not with those smuggling people across the Channel.
Now, Sir Keir Starmer is asked if Labour is rowing back on clean energy.
He says in response “no” and that the “clean energy pledge is exactly what it was in the election”.
“That has always been central to our mission,” he says.
He says there is “no watering down” and adds there is actually a “doubling down”.
In another question, he is asked if he is really arguing that Labour’s clean energy pledge hasn’t changed.
“The mission hasn’t changed from the day I launched it nearly two years ago,” he adds.
“There is always going to be a mix, but that is the pledge we made two years ago.”
In what looks like a thinly-veiled swipe at the civil service, the PM says too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in a “tepid bath of managed decline”.
This speech is about sending a message to the public, but also to Whitehall that he is committed to a new mission-led style of government.
He says: “This plan will land on desks across Whitehall with the heavy thud of a gauntlet thrown down.”
What was missing from this speech, however, and what journalists in the room are picking up on, is migration.
Our political editor Beth Rigby asks why there are no metrics the government can be measured by on migration.
The PM has learnt from his predecessor’s mistakes. The Conservatives were haunted by pledges to bring migration down to the tens of thousands, and Rishi Sunak’s bold promise to “stop the boats”.
Keir Starmer may well reside over a predicted fall in net migration, but will continue to face difficult questions until he tells us what success actually looks like.
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