Keir Starmer woos undecided voters with pledge to ‘battle for you’

Keir Starmer on Monday will tell the country, “I will fight for you”, as he seeks to win over undecided voters.

The Labour leader will say that while people are sick of the Tories after 14 years, he realises many have not yet made their mind up on him.

“Whatever the polls say, I know there are countless people who haven’t decided how they’ll vote in this election,” he will say in a speech marking the start of the first full week of campaigning. “They’re fed up with the failure, chaos and division of the Tories, but they still have questions about us. Has Labour changed enough? Do I trust them with my money, our borders, and our security?

“My answer is yes you can – because I have changed this party. Permanently. This has been my driving mission since day one. I was determined to change Labour so that it could serve the British people.”

His speech comes after Rachel Reeves confirmed she would not raise national insurance or income tax if she becomes Chancellor. She first made the pledge in an interview with the Mirror in January. Ms Reeves on Sunday said she believes Labour are in “touching distance” of winning power.

Speaking at an event in South East London on Monday, Mr Starmer will pledge to fight the economy on the economy and security.

“The very foundation of any good government is economic security, border security, and national security,” he will say. “Make no mistake, if the British people give us the opportunity to serve, then this is their core test. It is always their core test. I haven’t worked for four years on this, just to stop now. This is the foundation, the bedrock that our manifesto and our first steps will be built upon.”

In a statement of personal intent, he will add: “I know those people are looking at this election, looking at me personally. So, I make this promise: I will fight for you. I took this Labour Party four years ago, and I changed it into the party you see today.” Mr Starmer conceded he had been “criticised for some of the changes I’ve made”, but he insisted he will always put “country first, party second”.

Ms Reeves on Sunday said there is “not going to be a return to austerity” under Labour with commitments to boost frontline services a “down payment on the changes that we want to make”.

Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey said the Liberal Democrats are getting the best response from voters “for a generation” ahead of the General Election. Speaking at his party’s campaign launch in Cambridgeshire, he said “I’m not putting a ceiling on our ambitions.

“All I’m doing is talking to voters with my teams across the country, and the Liberal Democrats are getting a great response – a better response than we’ve had for a generation. I was elected back in 1997 and this feels to me quite a bit like that. I don’t worry about the other parties, I’m just excited about our job and excited about change.”