Current:Home > reviewsThe UK’s opposition Labour Party unveils its pledges to voters in hopes of winning the next election -PrestigeTrade
The UK’s opposition Labour Party unveils its pledges to voters in hopes of winning the next election
View
Date:2025-04-27 17:29:09
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s still-undeclared election campaign stepped up a gear on Thursday when opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starme r announced the key pledges that he hopes will make him the U.K.’s next prime minister later this year.
The center-left party is focusing on economic stability, security, health and education as it tries to win over disillusioned voters and regain power after 14 years in opposition.
Among Starmer’s six promises are restoring economic stability after years of soaring inflation and high mortgage rates, establishing a publicly owned green-energy company and toughening border controls.
Labour also says it will cut waiting times for treatment in the state-funded National Health Service, recruit more police officers to curb low-level crime that blights neighborhoods and hire thousands of new teachers.
Money for the pledges will come from modest revenue-raising measures including a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and an end to tax breaks for private schools.
At a launch event in Essex, an electoral bellwether county east of London, Starmer said the promises were “our down-payment on change” that would take a decade to implement.
Starmer, 61, has dragged Labour toward the political center ground since taking over in 2020 from veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, who led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019. He has dropped Corbyn’s opposition to Britain’s nuclear weapons, backed military aid to Ukraine, apologized for antisemitism within the party under Corbyn and stressed the party’s commitment to balancing the books.
Labour is strongly favored to defeat Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, who have ejected two leaders -– Boris Johnson and Liz Truss -- since 2022 amid a stuttering economy and a drumbeat of ethics scandals. An election must be held by January 2025, and the date will be decided by Sunak, who has said he expects it to be in the second half of this year.
Starmer said that after turmoil under the Tories, “stability is change, and that’s why it has to be our first step.”
Labour’s pledge card -– and an accompanying advertising campaign featuring Starmer looking resolute -- evoked memories of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who also dragged a fractious party toward the center and won three successive election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Blair is Labour’s most successful leader but remains a controversial figure within the party, reviled by some for taking the U.K. into the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Some on Labour’s left view Starmer, a lawyer and former head of Britain’s public prosecution service, as too timid. He angered environmentalists earlier this year when he ditched a pledge to invest 28 billion pounds ($35 billion) a year in green projects, saying the Conservative government had left the economy in such dire condition that Labour could no longer commit to the figure.
Last week Starmer welcomed a defecting Conservative lawmaker, Natalie Elphicke, to Labour’s ranks. That made many party members uncomfortable, since Elphicke was considered firmly on the right of the governing party.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, said the party “will not win the election just by appealing to people who always voted Labour.”
“The only way you’re going to win the election is by appealing to people who haven’t traditionally voted for you, and who voted Conservative in many cases in recent elections,” he told the BBC. “That is what the difference between losing and winning is, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of in that.”
veryGood! (919)
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Trader Joe’s basil recall: Maps show states affected by salmonella, recalled product
- They bought Florida party destination 'Beer Can Island' for $63k, now it's selling for $14M: See photos
- Longtime ESPNer Howie Schwab, star of 'Stump the Schwab' sports trivia show, dies at 63
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Trump Media tells Nasdaq short sellers may be using potential market manipulation in DJT shares
- 'Pulp Fiction' 30th anniversary reunion: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, more
- They bought Florida party destination 'Beer Can Island' for $63k, now it's selling for $14M: See photos
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- National Cold Brew Day 2024 deals: Where to get free coffee and discounts on Saturday
Ranking
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- A cop ran a light going 88 mph and killed a young father of twins. He still has his badge
- Former champion Jinder Mahal leaves WWE, other stars surprisingly released on Friday
- Councilwoman chosen as new Fort Wayne mayor, its 1st Black leader, in caucus to replace late mayor
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Who will win the NBA Finals? Predictions for 2024 NBA playoffs bracket
- Reduced Snow Cover and Shifting Vegetation Are Disrupting Alpine Ecosystems, Study Finds
- Lama Rod describes himself as a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. He wants to free you from suffering.
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
A Federal Program Is Expanding Electric School Bus Fleets, But There Are Still Some Bumps in the Road
'The Jinx' Part 2: Release date, time, where to watch new episodes of Robert Durst docuseries
Joel Embiid returns after injury scare, but Knicks take Game 1 against 76ers
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Looking to submit this year's FAFSA? Here is how the application works and its eligibility
10-year-old boy confesses to fatally shooting a man in his sleep 2 years ago, Texas authorities say
Record Store Day celebrates indie retail music sellers as they ride vinyl’s popularity wave