Keir Starmer Pledges "First Steps" For Labour Government

At a major speech in Essex on Thursday, Labour leader Keir Starmer will announce the first "steps" he would take in as prime minister if Labour is elected into Government at the next general election.

Labour officials say the six new pledges will play a key part in its election manifesto, at an event which will widely be viewed as an unofficial general election campaign launch.

Prime Minister Sunak must call an election this year and is currently expected to hold it in the Autumn. Labour is the favourite to win after fourteen years in opposition, with Sky's latest poll tracker giving Starmer's party an average lead of 20 per cent over the Conservatives.

The steps, presented to Starmer's Shadow Cabinet on Wednesday, focus on the economy, the National Health Service, illegal immigration, energy, crime and education.

Labour has today also released new posters which the party plans to publish on billboards and in regional newspapers in key general election battlegrounds across the country. 

Starmer, pictured in black and white with his sleeves rolled up, features prominently in the posters, with the material referring to "my first steps", rather than "our" or "Labour's".

A Labour spokesperson confirmed this was a deliberate strategy of putting the Labour leader front and centre of the party's campaign in the run up to the general election. They told PoliticsHome they wanted Starmer's "personal stamp" on it". The new posters represent Labour's biggest spend on political advertisement since the last general election in 2019.

A Labour spokesperson said the steps represented a "bridge" to the full manifesto, which the party will publish much closer to election day.

They also stressed that policy areas like housing and the environment,