(Bloomberg) — UK opposition leader Keir Starmer will promise a long-term plan to fix Britain’s ailing public services and grow the economy if his Labour Party wins a general election expected next year.
(Bloomberg) — UK opposition leader Keir Starmer will promise a long-term plan to fix Britain’s ailing public services and grow the economy if his Labour Party wins a general election expected next year.
Starmer will outline “five bold missions” in a keynote speech in Manchester, northwest England, on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. He’ll provide details of the first in the form of a “measurable” goal for economic growth, with targets for the other four missions spelled out in the coming months, including on addressing the National Health Service crisis.
Riding high in the polls, Labour is increasingly presenting itself as a government-in-waiting after 13 years in opposition. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must call a national vote by January 2025 at the latest, and the opposition is already thinking about its manifesto of electoral promises. The missions, Starmer’s office said, will form its “backbone.”
“With missions comes greater stability and certainty — instead of a government chopping and changing all the time, blowing with the wind,” Starmer will say. “The missions will be anchor points to show clearly the direction of travel.”
The five-mission program is a riposte to Sunak’s own five priorities outlined in a speech last month, which also included growing Britain’s economy and improving health care. Starmer’s office said Sunak’s promises were the “height of sticking-plaster politics, designed to get the Tories through the next few months.”
The Labour leader will pledge instead “an answer to the widespread call for someone that can ‘fix the fundamentals’” and “a long-term plan to unlock Britain’s pride and purpose,” his office said.
A Starmer-led administration would aim to properly understand the root causes of problems and work in partnership with business, trade unions and communities, according to the statement.
Britain’s Cherished NHS Wrestles With Its ‘Reform or Die’ Moment
“I’m not concerned about whether investment or expertise comes from the public or private sector. I just want to get the job done. And I mean that — we have to get it done.”
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