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Labor under pressure for housing and target waiting lists as Starmer prepares to unveil new ‘plan for change’
good morning Keir Starmer is going to make a speech on Thursday and you can tell it’s important because number 10 has started a briefing on what he’s going to say in news release to journalists sent last Friday. He will announce a “change plan” that will include “measurable milestones”. In the pre-briefing Keir Starmer said it would be “the most ambitious but honest program of government in a generation”.
But wait – hasn’t Starmer already announced many “measurable milestones”? In 2023 he announced five missionswhich he says are not just conventional efficiency targets, but part of an attempt to make the government more strategic and focused on the long term. The five headline missions included sub-missions, so there were probably about 26 goals or promises in the document. Then, as the election loomed, Labor simplified things by announcing six first steps to change.
The new stages will be based on what the missions set. No one is saying the five missions were rubbish. But by announcing new priorities, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the old ones are at best downgraded, and so it is not surprising that this is seen as a reboot. Politico this morning described it sarcastically as the “definitely not reset” speech.
In an interview yesterday Pat McFaddencabinet minister, revealed that one of the new milestones will be to increase the number of children who are considered educationally and socially ready when they start primary school, from 60%, the current figure, to 75%. Another milestone will reportedly be for NHS to achieve its target of increasing the number of patients having surgery within 18 weeks to at least 92% – a target that has been missed for years.
but today in their Times splash, Chris Smith and Oliver Wright say NHS chiefs are concerned about the impact of prioritizing waiting list cuts above all else. They say:
Health chiefs accept the need to focus on the government’s policy priority but say ministers will have to accept compromises to achieve it. “If the priority is to put all the money into electives, what we’re going to see is war-zone emergency departments and all sorts of other things being scrapped,” said an NHS source. “There will be a range of casualties, including mental health, community care and waiting in A&E.”
The campaign missions also included plans to build 1.5 million new homes – a target confirmed by the housing minister just last month. In July Angela Raynerthe Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, announced new housing targets for local authorities in England designed to ensure that this objective is achieved.
But this promise also seems problematic. The BBC has published the results of an investigation which shows that many councils, including Labour-run bodies, think Rayner’s new targets are unrealistic. c their report Alex Forsyth, Jack Fenwick and Hannah Capella explain:
Local councils have told the government that a flagship plan to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the next five years is “unrealistic” and “impossible to achieve”, the BBC has revealed.
The majority of councils raised concerns about the plan in a consultation carried out by Angela Rayner’s housing department earlier this year.
The responses, obtained by the BBC through freedom of information laws, potentially put local authorities at odds with Labor over one of their top priorities.
The report cites many examples of what councils said in response to the consultation.
Labour-run Broxtowe council in Nottinghamshire described the proposed changes as “very challenging, if not impossible to achieve”.
South Tyneside, another Labour-run council, said the plans were “completely unrealistic”, while independent Central Bedfordshire Council said the area would be left “absolutely inundated with growth that the infrastructure simply cannot support”.
We will hear from Rayner later in the House of Commons, where she is due to answer questions at 2:30 p.m.
Yesterday McFadden said migration, which was not included in the original five missions, will be in the change plan document. This topic will also be raised later today as Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, will make a statement on illegal migration in the House of Commons after 3.30pm.
Here is the program for the day.
11.30 am: Downing Street is holding a lobby briefing.
14.30: Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, answers questions in the House of Commons.
After 15.30: Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, makes a statement to MPs on illegal migration and the government’s deal with Iraq covering people smuggling.
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