What are the key principles of Labour Party policy?

Labour leader Keir Starmer has set out what he says are “fully costed” key policies for the next election, pledging to cut NHS waiting times, employ thousands more teachers and ensure economic stability.

“Stability is change,” Starmer said at an event in Essex on Thursday, outlining the first six steps Labour would take if it wins the next election.

He said the public could expect his six commitments to be realized during the two terms of a Labor government. “I am ready to undertake the hard work of making major changes only on the basis of a serious plan for change in this country for five or 10 years and taking the first steps necessary to implement them,” he said.

Yahoo News explains Labour’s six key commitments and how the party plans to fund them…

🏦 Ensure economic stability

Starmer pledged that Labour would “deliver economic stability” if in office, pointing to the previous economic chaos caused by former prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget which “led to the collapse of the economy”.

“That is the bedrock of economic growth – tough spending rules to keep inflation, taxes and mortgages down, because if you lose control of the economy, working people pay the price. Liz Truss lost control of the economy and working people paid the price,” Starmer said.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Restoring growth will require difficult choices. It will take hard work. Decades of national renewal.

👩‍⚕️ Reduce waiting times on the NHS

Starmer has pledged to reduce waiting times on the NHS by adding an extra 40,000 appointments a week.

“The seriousness of this problem cannot be overstated,” he said. “Nearly 8 million visits and surgeries are needed – which means that almost everyone in this room, everyone watching or listening, is probably on a waiting list or knows someone who is on a waiting list.

Starmer said he had met a woman with an ingrowing eyelid who had been waiting 18 months for surgery and had just been told she would have to wait another 12. “That is the price that so many people pay and that is why we have to deal with it,” he added.

How will Labour pay for this? Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Labor wanted “healthcare for all, funded by the few, greater investment in the NHS and reform of the way the service works.”

He added that Labor would fund 40,000 extra meetings a week on evenings and weekends, “busting tax evaders and loopholes”.

🛂 Establishment of a new Border Protection Command

Starmer criticized the government’s flagship program for Rwanda, describing it as a “trick costing a fortune” that resulted in the deportation of less than 1% of people arriving in small boats.

He said criminal gangs know few people will be deported from Rwanda under the programme and added that the “vile gangs” must be stopped.

“We need to get serious about breaking up these gangs and defeating them,” he said. “That’s where the Border Security Command comes in — a new command with new resources and new powers, including counterterrorism powers.”

How will Labour pay for this? Labour’s plan includes hiring hundreds of extra specialist investigators, intelligence officers and cross-border police officers to support the Border Security Command unit and work across the UK and Europe. Labour has said it intends to end the use of hotels to house migrants, but has not yet provided a full cost estimate for the new border protection command.

🟢 Start Great British Energy

Labour has also pledged to create a new UK Energy Company that will “make money for taxpayers” and help cut energy bills.

Starmer said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted how exposed the UK was to fluctuations in oil prices, with “bills going up” as a result.

How will Labor pay for this? Starmer promised to set up Great British Energy and “harness taxpayer-owned, clean British energy, making money for the taxpayer investing in the future and cutting bills for good”.

Labor said it would fund Great British Energy “partly through an appropriate windfall profits tax on oil and gas giants making record profits”.

😠 Fight antisocial behavior

Starmer said he wants people to live in communities where they feel safe and rejected the view that anti-social behaviour was a low-level problem.

“Throughout my career, when I was a chief prosecutor and since I became a politician, people have said to me, ‘Keir, this is low-level anti-social behaviour, it’s not that important’ – completely wrong. If you feel you can’t open your front door in the evening and go out, if you feel you can’t walk down your own high street and feel comfortable and safe in your own community – that’s huge.

“This is not a low-level issue, this is really important.”

How will Labour pay for this? Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the party planned to put thousands of extra police officers and PCSOs on the streets.

“We will pay for this in time wasted on wasteful police contracts and bureaucracy,” she said.

She added that Labor would create 100 new youth centers and mentors to “stop young people being drawn into crime” and tougher laws to tackle violence against women and girls would “halve serious violence within a decade”.

She previously said Labor would create a national savings bank to more efficiently buy police equipment and pay for 13,000 extra neighborhood police officers.

👨‍🎓 Recruit 6,500 new teachers

Starmer has pledged to recruit 6,500 new teachers, highlighting staff shortages across the education system in key subjects.

“I want every child, regardless of their background, to think that success is theirs,” he added.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson added: “The future Labour wants to build… starts with qualified, supported and experienced teachers in every classroom.

How will Labour pay for this? Labor plans to use money raised from the private schools tax to fund 6,500 new teachers and put mental health counselors in every secondary school if it wins power. In September, the i newspaper reported that Labor planned to add 20% VAT to private school fees, which would raise £1.7 billion.

Schools Week also reported that planned changes to VAT would raise £350 million to fund this commitment.

It is unclear whether the 6,500 figure represents an overall net increase.