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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 sought to reset his government after a difficult five months in power.
Starmer said the UK would aim for at least 95 per cent clean energy by 2030, abandoning an election pledge that the UK would “work towards 100 per cent clean and cheap energy” 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 He said his government would “achieve the highest sustainable growth in the G7”, but did not set a timeframe. He previously promised to achieve the fastest growth in the G7 “for consecutive years until the end of the parliament”.
His new economic milestone also aims for higher real disposable income per person and GDP per capita by the end of the parliament, which may last until 2029.
Starmer’s team insisted that his speech at the Pinewood film studio near London was not a “reboot” but an attempt to make his top priorities clear.
The new targets — ranging from policing to hospital operations — are partly an attempt to focus Whitehall on delivering Starmer’s five missions: economic growth, clean energyimproving the NHS, safer streets and raising education standards.
Starmer, whose opinion polls 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 use “the full power of government” to achieve his goals, but added: “That’s exactly what’s broken.” Starmer wants to modernize Whitehall, including increasing the use of artificial intelligence.
The Prime Minister was criticized for a series of initiatives. In addition to the five missions and his new milestones, he also outlined six “first steps” in May, which included measures to address irregular migration.
“Hard-working British people go out for graft every day, but they lack the policies to serve them,” Starmer said.
The prime minister’s team fears voters have found it difficult to grasp some of his original policy missions – notably a pledge to make Britain the fastest-growing G7 economy by the end of Labour’s first term.
The new economic “turning point” talks about “raising living standards in every part 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 which Starmer said would be key to ensuring more growth.
According to the NHS, 92 per cent of patients should not have to wait more than 18 weeks for elective treatment.
Starmer also promised to put 13,000 new police, special constables or paralegals on the street 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 green electricity represented no change to Labour’s election pledge to achieve “carbon-free electricity” by 2030.
Labor insisted that the professional definition of “clean energy” meant more than 95 per cent. The party also said in its manifesto that it would “maintain a strategic reserve of gas power plants to guarantee security of supply.”
The previous Conservative government, which Labor argued was not ambitious enough on the green transition, had a target of 95 per cent clean energy.
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, appointed by Labor to head the “UK 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 strategic gas reserves. We ordered advice (from the National Energy System Operator) — it confirmed that ‘clean energy’ means at least 95 percent,” he said.
Additional reporting by Rachel Millard
