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Sir Keir Starmer watered down one of his green goals and redefined his economic growth targets on Thursday as the British prime minister tried to reboot his government after a difficult five months in office.
Starmer said Britain would aim for 95 per cent clean energy by 2030, abandoning a campaign promise that Britain would be “running on 100 per cent clean and cheap electricity” by that year.
The Labor leader insisted as he set out new policy “milestones” that his party’s green mission “hasn’t changed since the day we launched it two years ago”.
Starmer said his government would “deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7”, but he did not set a timeframe. He previously promised to achieve the fastest growth in the G7 “for consecutive years before the end of the parliament”.
His new economic milestone also calls for higher real disposable income per person and GDP per capita by the end of the parliament, which may run until 2029.
Starmer’s team insisted that his performance at Pinewood Studios, near London, was not a “relaunch” but an attempt to make his top priorities clear.
The new targets – from policing to hospital operations – are in part an attempt to focus Whitehall’s attention on Starmer’s five objectives: economic growth, clean energyimproving the NHS, safer streets and raising education standards.
Starmer, whose poll ratings have plummeted since Labour’s landslide victory in the July 4 general election, said his “Plan for Change” document would land on the desks of civil servants “with a heavy thud”.
He said he wanted to deploy the “full power of government” to achieve his goals, but added: “This is exactly what is broken.” Starmer wants to modernize Whitehall, including increasing the use of artificial intelligence.
The premier was criticized for the carousel of initiatives. In addition to the five missions and new milestones, he also outlined six “first steps” in May, which included measures to tackle irregular migration.
“Hard-working Britons go out every day to get their vaccinations, but they don’t shy away from policies that should serve them,” Starmer said.
The prime minister’s team fears some of his initial policy targets – notably a promise to make Britain the fastest-growing G7 economy by the end of Labour’s first term – have been difficult for voters to grasp.
The new economic “milestone” talks about “raising living standards in all parts of the UK so working people have more money in their pockets”.
Other milestones include building 1.5 million homes in England and fast-tracking at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects, a target Starmer said would be vital to delivering higher growth.
According to the NHS, 92% of patients have to wait no more than 18 weeks for planned treatment.
Starmer also promised to field 13,000 new police, special constables or support officers and ensure 75 per cent of five-year-olds in England are “ready to learn when they go to school”.
The Prime Minister insisted the new wording on clean electricity represented no change to Labour’s election pledge to achieve “zero carbon electricity by 2030”.
Labor insisted that the expert definition of “clean energy” meant more than 95 per cent. In its manifesto, the party also said it would “maintain a strategic reserve of gas-fired power plants to ensure security of supply”.
The previous Conservative government, which Labor argued was not ambitious enough to go green, had a 95 per cent clean energy target.
Claire Coutinho, the Tory shadow energy secretary, said: “They have watered down their plans because they know they come with a monumental price tag.”
Chris Stark, who was appointed by Labor to lead the UK’s Clean Energy Mission at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, insisted there had been no policy change.
“The manifesto said that clean energy would include a strategic gas reserve. We commissioned a consultation (NES) — it confirmed that “clean energy” means at least 95 percent,” he said.
Additional reporting by Rachel Millard
