General election live: Labour unveils key policies as it launches manifesto | Politics

Starmer says he’s sick of politicians “lecturing young people about their responsibility to our nation” after sacrificing so much during Covid.

He means Rishi Sunakand his national service plan.

And he talks about how important it is for parents to know that their children can have a better life.

When he was growing up, they weren’t rich, he says. He says he knows what it’s like to be embarrassed to bring friends home because the carpet is scuffed or the window is cracked.

But it’s his fault for the broken window, he joked. He did this with a soccer ball.

He says his parents always took comfort in the idea that their children would have better opportunities. He wants to restore it, he says.

Here’s a picture of the protester who interrupted Starmer’s speech earlier. (Look 11.30 am.)

Starmer now uses the passage informed at night about how wealth creation is his priority. (Look 9.14 am.)

We will reform planning rules, a choice ignored for 14 years, and build homes and infrastructure.

We will equalize your rights at work, a choice ignored for 14 years, and raise your wages and security.

We will create a new industrial strategy, a choice ignored for 14 years, and back it with a national wealth fund, invest in clean steel imports, giga batteries and create 650,000 new jobs for communities like yours.

Starmer says Labor rejects ‘Farage-style politics as pantomime’

Starmer says the manifesto is a credible long-term plan with clear, long-term steps.

These are from ITV Joel Hillswho started flipping through the manifesto (which is not yet online).

Labour’s manifesto shows it plans to raise £8.5bn a year from tax rises + a crackdown on avoidance by 2028/29.
Sounds like a lot, but quite modest (Lib Dems want to raise £19bn). And a drop in the fiscal ocean against total tax claims forecasts of £1.191bn by 2028/29….

Labor has committed to freezing the National Insurance and Income Tax thresholds until 2028, so taxes will still rise significantly under a Labor government – although not on the scale of the rises we saw in the last Parliament.

Starmer describes the manifesto and “manifesto to create wealth, a plan to change Britain”.

Labor will begin to rebuild Britain, served by the old argument – that we serve working people, he says.

He sees so much potential in Britain. He means dating someone who can’t afford to buy their own home. And he again tells the story of his visit to Alder Hey Hospital, where he was told that the most common reason for operations on children was tooth decay.

Imagine what would happen if a Labor government solved these problems, he says.

Keir Starmer is now taking the stage. He is full of praise for the previous speakers, especially Polly, saying he knows how embarrassing it is to speak on a stage like this.

He begins his speech, but someone starts cursing him. He doesn’t seem worried. “We gave up being a party of protest five years ago,” he claimed. The protester is quickly silenced or removed.

The next speaker is Pollyan A level student in the middle of her exams and new Labor party member. She recently turned 18 and will vote Labour, she says.

Young people felt forgotten during Covid. There were lasting effects, with the algorithm’s exam results influencing people’s choices down the line.

And while people were following the Covid rules, they were partying in Downing Street, she says.

She says she is also excited about Labour’s environmental plans.

Daniel introduces the next speaker, Nathaniel Dye, who has terminal cancer.

He says he’ll be lucky to live another three years.

When he was first diagnosed, it looked like he could live cancer free.

But the cancer had spread and is now terminal.

he says he spent more than 100 days waiting for cancer treatment when the national target was 62 days. He can’t help but think what would have happened if he had been treated earlier.

The system “frustrated me a lot,” he says.

Labor has a real plan to ensure people get the treatment they need before it’s too late, he says.

He continue:

If I’ve learned anything from my sad experience, it’s that time is of the essence. And I know that Wes Streeting, himself a cancer survivor, will do everything in his power to get our NHS back up to speed.

He says he will not live to see the NHS turned around by Labour. But he lives in hope that this will happen.

The next speaker is Daniel, who lives in East London. He lives with his partner and their two children in a one-bedroom apartment that is practically a bunkhouse, he says.

They have no room, he says. It is a struggle for his children. His children have a hard time at school because they don’t have their own space or their own beds at home, so they don’t sleep well.

He says he graduated from university and has a good job. He tried to do the right thing. But there is no hope of buying a home. And renting privately is like having a mortgage.

He says he welcomes Labour’s plans to build more homes and help for first-time buyers.

He says that for the past 14 years they have struggled with unrest and insecurity. Labor is the only party that offers something different.

Richard Walker, the head of the Icelandic supermarket chain, is the next speaker. He says the next government should prioritize growth.

From talking to customers, he knows how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people, he says.

He says he has real hope that under LaborThe UK can turn its back on the dark years of Tory misrule.

Starmer launches Labour’s manifesto

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