Tonight (Wednesday 19 June), in Labour's brand-new Party Election
Broadcast, Labour Leader promises to hit the ground
running on day one of a Labour government if the party is
privileged enough to serve the country.
Making the pledge to football icon Gary Neville, says that his team have, for
months already, been on a footing that will ‘deliver from the get
go' on Labour's plans to change Britain after fourteen years of
decline.
Asked how he would change the public perception that all
politicians are 'the same', the Labour leader said he would act
immediately to return service back to politics: “Action, not
words. I don't think people are going to believe that politics
has changed until they see it has changed. The first thing is
returning politics to service because it's a public service…
you're here to serve the country.
Walking in the fells of the Lake District, Gary Neville heard
from first-hand about how his
Labour Party will deliver change for the country. The Labour
leader outlined his first steps and immediate priorities to
deliver for the British people on day one of a Labour
government:
“We're going to hit the ground running from the get go. Day one
first; stabilise the economy, we have to get that back under
control; making sure we're bringing down the waiting list -
40,000 appointments each and every week. And that's 2 million a
year extra to bring down that waiting list; a Border Security
Command that will smash the gangs that are running the vile trade
of putting people in boats across the channel; set up Great
British Energy - we can do that from the start - a publicly owned
company generating renewable energy owned by the taxpayer, making
money for the taxpayer; making sure we're dealing with
anti-social behaviour with 13,000 neighbourhood police; and with
sleeves rolled up, recruiting the 6,500 teachers we need in our
secondary schools are particularly in core subjects like maths.
They're the first steps.”
Asked if he already had a team working on that day one
preparation four months out, confirmed he put his Party on
that footing: “Yes. I said [months ago] I don't want you having a
conversation on day one. I need you to deliver for me, so you
need to be ready to deliver from the get go. So that's the
footing I've had them on.
Both climbed the foothills of the Langdale Pikes, a place deeply
personal for the Labour leader. Most summers his mother and
father - both now passed - would drive the family up to the area
to holiday there, where they'd climb the crags and eat fish and
chips by the lakeside. The family grew attached to the area
especially after striking an unlikely friendship with esteemed
fellwalker and sketcher, Alfred Wainwright MBE, who stayed in
touch with the Starmers after meeting by chance on a fellside one
summer. Wainwright even wrote to Keir's mother, Jo Starmer, when
she became ill with a card telling here ‘the hills are waiting
for you'.
remembers that his mother, Jo,
wouldn't go on holiday abroad, but instead would choose to take
her children to the Cumbrian fells. Visiting the miners' cottages
next to the Langdale Valley where the Starmer family would stay
each summer, Neville asked the Labour leader: “if your mum and
dad were here now, in these cottages, what would they be saying
to you?”
An emotional , reflecting on what his
parents would make of his career, said: “they'd be having a real
moment, and so am I actually. If she was back here now… and I was
in a race to be a candidate for the Prime Minister of the
country, they'd be really proud. It'd be a really incredible
moment. It really would.”
, speaking ahead of the
broadcast of the PEB, said:
“Seeing those same sites and cottages we so often visited on our
family holidays was an emotional time for me. It gave me pause
for thought to remind me why I do this job. It made me think of
my mum, a public servant in the NHS for so many years, and those
like her across the country who so heavily count on it in the
toughest moments. But most of all, it was a reminder of the
millions across the country who desperately need a Labour
government to rebuild Britain.
“Politics is about service. I've worked in the police force in
Northern Ireland. I've run the Crown Prosecution Service. And
I've changed the Labour Party to put it back into the service of
working people. That's what I'll do with our country, starting
with Labour's first steps for change: economic stability with
tough spending rules; cutting NHS waiting times with 40,000 more
appointments each week; a new Border Security Command to smash
criminal boat gangs; switching on Great British Energy, a
publicly-owned company to cut bills for good; crack down on
antisocial behaviour, with more neighbourhood police; recruiting
6,500 new teachers.
“Because only Labour has a plan to stop the chaos, turn the page,
and rebuild Britain.
Gary Neville said:
“It was a privilege to spend the morning with Keir filming this
in the beautiful Lake District, he is a future Prime Minister who
the country can believe in and trust.
“It's in your hands. You have the power to make change happen.
Vote Labour.”
Ends
Notes
- The PEB will be transmitted on ITV at 18:25 and on BBC One at
19:25, Wednesday 19 June
