Current location:business >>
The Starmer Stone! Keir apes Blair
business8233People have gathered around
IntroductionKeir Starmer is trumpeting an election 'pledge card' today as he tries to show voters he is ready fo ...
Keir Starmer is trumpeting an election 'pledge card' today as he tries to show voters he is ready for government.
The Labour leader will ape Tony Blair's tactics with six commitments, and has added 'smashing the criminal boat gangs' after a backlash that there was no reference to immigration in his previous 'missions'.
However, the move will also evoke memories of the notorious 'Ed Stone' episode, when Ed Miliband had his vows engraved on a three-metre high slab of granite.
That was seen as sealing his doom in 2015, when Labour hopes of victory were dashed by David Cameron.
The six promises – dubbed the 'first steps to change Britain' – will be printed on a card for distribution to voters, and accompanied by a big advertising push.
Sir Keir will give a speech launching them in Essex this morning.
A mock-up of how the new Labour pledges could look on a stone tablet
Sir Keir will give a speech launching them in Essex this morning alongside other members of the shadow cabinet
The card features no new policy, and immigration is the only addition to the original five missions.
Labour sources said they would provide a 'bridge' to delivering the party's vision, but the wording on several of the promises has been watered down significantly.
Labour's six pledges
1. Deliver economic stability with tough spending rules, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.
2. Cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments each week, during evenings and weekends, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.
3. Launch a new Border Security Command with hundreds of new specialist investigators and use counter-terror powers to smash the criminal boat gangs.
4. Set up Great British Energy a publicly-owned clean power company, to cut bills for good and boost energy security, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants.
5. Crack down on antisocial behaviour with more neighbourhood police paid for by ending wasteful contracts, tough new penalties for offenders, and a new network of youth hubs.
6. Recruit 6,500 new teachers in key subjects to prepare children for life, work and the future, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.
AdvertisementThe original pledge to raise economic growth to the fastest rate in the G7 has been replaced by a commitment to 'Deliver economic stability, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible'.
On the NHS, Labour will pledge to 'cut waiting times' with the introduction of 40,000 extra appointments a week.
The immigration pledge does not mention Sir Keir's determination to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Instead, it focuses on his plan to establish a new 'Border Security Command' to take the fight to the people smuggling gangs.
The green pledge focuses on setting up a new state-owned energy firm, rather than the controversial target of decarbonising the entire electricity system by 2030.
On crime, Labour will promise to 'crack down on antisocial behaviour' but gives no indication of how many extra police officers might be recruited.
On education, the pledge focuses on the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers, paid for by the controversial policy of putting VAT on private school fees.
A Labour spokesman insisted that other priorities had not been downgraded and would still be included in the manifesto.
Sir Keir said: 'These first steps make real our claim that a changed Labour Party is back in service of working people. They show our priorities, what we care about and what the British public cares about. Country first, party second.'
The new pledges are markedly different to the ten promises Sir Keir made when standing for the Labour leadership in 2020, when he promised to raise income tax for the better off, nationalise the utilities and 'defend migrants' rights'.
Most of those promises have since been dumped as he tried to reposition the party to a stance from which it could win power.
Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said: 'Sir Keir Starmer's been Labour leader for four years but still has no coherent plan.
'Labour's asylum amnesty, colossal unfunded spending commitments, and higher taxes would take us back to square one.'
The Labour leader will ape Tony Blair's tactics (pictured) with six commitments, and has added 'smashing the criminal boat gangs'
Rather than emphasising Sir Keir's pledge to scrap the Government's Rwanda scheme, the pledge cards will outline his plan for a 'Border Security Command'. Pictured: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“World Watch news portal”。http://haiti.gigirondeau.com/html-86a399612.html
Related articles
Pictured: Woman, 81, killed in 'axe attack' at her sister
businessA beloved pensioner who died after she was allegedly attacked with an axe at a tea-party to celebrat ...
【business】
Read moreUkraine war: Five dead and a million without power after wave of Russian strikes
businessBy Lipika Pelham, BBC NewsFirefighters extinguish a fire at an electrical substation on 22 March, 20 ...
【business】
Read more'They cruise, we lose'
businessMembers of Climate Liberation Aotearoa protest in Wellington CBD on 9 April 2024. Photo: RNZ / Hamis ...
【business】
Read more
Popular articles
- Ethiopia protests US ambassador's speech after he calls for release of political prisoners
- Oscar winner David Seidler dies while fly
- Continued funding concerns among disabled communities
- Customs seize $20m meth and MDMA in two bags at Auckland Airport
- Who is Robert Fico's wife? Meet the Slovakian Prime Minister's spouse Svetlana Ficova
- Ukraine war: Five dead and a million without power after wave of Russian strikes
Latest articles
Louisville native Justin Thomas has work to do at PGA Championship, but 2
UN Security Council passes resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire
What is going on with P Diddy?
Whale euthanised after stranding near Christchurch
Vinted buyers are receiving parcels in VERY strange packaging
Opportunities Party leader Raf Manji resigns
LINKS
- Several Iranian airports cancel flights until Monday
- China's new factory data evidence of good momentum in its economy: FM spokesperson
- Xi Replies to Letter from Representatives of Kenyan Students, Alumni at Beijing Jiaotong University
- Mexico protests to UN chief over Ecuador's raid on embassy
- China's homegrown manned airship completes first transfer flight
- Friendship Blossoms on the Belt and Road
- Emission capping in focus as scientists predict hotter 2024
- Feature: How Chinese are helping Suriname turn around its farming fortunes
- China's largest land port handles over 5 mln metric tons of imports and exports in Q1
- China's homegrown unmanned aircraft takes to sky