Keir Starmer’s ‘five missions’ for Britain explained – can Labour achieve them?
Keir Starmer has unveiled his five national “missions” of how Labour would fix some of the thorniest issues facing the country.
In a major speech in Manchester, the Labour leader said these would form the backbone for the party’s next election manifesto – and form the “pillars of the next Labour Government”.
“They will be measurable, so we can track progress and be held to account,” he vowed.
Mr Starmer blasted the Tories for being “devoid of ideas”, describing them as “clapped out, divided, too weak to challenge the vested interests in their party which hold Britain back”.
“Britain needs leadership with ambition,” he added.
He said Rishi Sunak’s party still don’t understand “that chaos has a cost”, and added: “The noises off you hear from them are a primal scream.
“The last gasp of a party caught between a rock of stagnation and the hard place of its economic recklessness.”
Here The Mirror takes a deeper dive into Mr Starmer’s “missions” – what they are, what they mean and how difficult they can be achieved.
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Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
1. ‘Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7’
It is no surprise Mr Starmer made the economy one of his first “missions” after failed PM Liz Truss’s disastrous 49 days in No10.
Her “mini-Budget” prompted turmoil in the financial markets, mortgage rates to soar, and ultimately her being ousted from office.
Mr Starmer pledged to turn around the country’s stuttering economy within the first term of a Labour Government.
He vowed to make Britain the fastest-growing economy in the G7 – a group of countries that includes Canada, Germany and the US.
Just last month, the International Monetary Fund forecast the UK would be the only major economy in this bloc to shrink in 2023.
So achieving this pledge and outstripping countries like the US – in just five years – will be no easy feat.
Mr Starmer admitted that hitting this target would be “tough”.
He added: “Nobody is going to say, ‘That’s vague, that’s something that is going to be easily achievable’.”
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Alberto Pezzali/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
2. ‘Make Britain a clean energy superpower’
Mr Starmer used a lengthy section of his speech to accuse the Tories over the last 13 years of “sticking plaster” politics.
What he meant by this is short-term solutions to the throniest issues facing the country at the moment.
This has been exposed by the Government’s temporary measures to lessen the impacts of surging energy bills in the wake of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Starmer plans to address this by making Britain a “clean energy superpower”, which includes zero carbon electricity by 2030.
This essentially means making the UK the first major economy not to generate all its electricity without using fossil fuels.
Again this will be a difficult task, but one the Labour leader has to make a priority to tackle the climate crisis in government.
Mr Starmer stressed: “Again this is a sharp intake of breath. When I speak to CEOs and others about this, they say, ‘Mmm. That’s going to be some going Keir”.
Keir Starmer’s five missions for a Labour government
Mission one: Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 with good jobs, productivity growth across the country.
Mission two: Build an NHS fit for the future by speeding up treatment, harnessing life sciences and technology, reducing preventable illnesses and cutting health inequalities.
Mission three: Make Britain’s streets safe by reforming the police and criminal justice system, preventing crime early and tackling violence against women and girls.
Mission four: Break down the barriers to opportunity for children by reforming childcare and education, raising standards and preparing young people for work and life.
Mission five: Make Britain a clean energy superpower.
3. ‘Build an NHS fit for the future’
With the NHS facing a record backlog of over 7million patients, a staffing crisis, and the biggest industrial action since it was created in 1948, this “mission” is critical.
The Labour leader said: “For years we’ve had winter crises.
“Every year the same panic, the same despair. This is life and death, yet the Government has never found a long-term solution.”
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PA)
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has recently said the NHS is facing an “existential crisis” and needs reform.
In a speech in December, he added: “I am not going to pretend that the NHS is the envy of the world, or that it is currently delivering the standard of care that patients should be satisfied with”.
But the “mission” as it stands, is quite vague. The party has said it will set out “measurable goals” on the reform needed for the NHS in the coming months.
It will inevitably require a massive injection of cash to address the fundamental problems facing the health service.
4. ‘Make Britain’s streets safe’
Echoing Tony Blair’s New Labour on this law and order mission, Mr Starmer said he would be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”.
“You’ve heard it before, but it’s right!”, he told the audience in Manchester.
The party has started fleshing out its policy ideas in this area.
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Last week, Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed unveiled plans to “tackle the scourge of anti-social behaviour”.
This will include introducing clean-up squads for fly-tippers and rubbish dumpers, with fixed-penalty notices.
Mr Starmer vowed to “make Britain’s streets safe” includes preventing crime, tackling violence against women, and stopping criminals getting away without punishment.
But he didn’t set out any detail on what he plans to do – or a timeframe.
More is expected from Labour on this front before the summer.
5. ‘Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage’
In his speech, Mr Starmer vowed to “break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage” – for every child.
This would involve reforming childcare and education while “raising standards everywhere and preparing young people for work”.
As the cost-of-living crisis impacts families across the country and many struggle with the rising cost of bills, this mission is essential.
The life chances of some kids too often depend on a postcode lottery or simply the money in their parents’ bank accounts.
The Mirror has previously reported the party is already drawing up plans for a massive expansion in childcare.
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It is understood to be considering offering parents more free hours.
Earlier this week, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also announced that all primary school children in the capital would get access to free school meals from September.
However the frontbench hasn’t backed the idea – and whether Labour would roll this out nationally remains to be seen.
The overall mission to break down the barriers for all children is ambitious – but at the moment it lacks crucial detail.
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