Kier Starmer launches Labour’s six steps for change in Wales

Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales and Jo Stevens, Shadow Welsh Secretary today (THURSDAY) launched Labour’s six steps for change in Wales – Labour’s doorstep offer to the Welsh people.

At a major event in South Wales, Keir Starmer outlined Labour’s offer to the country after 14 years of failure and decline under Westminster Conservative governments.

Keir Starmer promised that each of the six steps would be a serious change, not a short-term sticking plaster solution. Each would be fully costed and funded and make a difference to the lives of working people.

The Labour leader stressed that the first of these steps is economic stability because that will be the biggest change Labour offers the country after five Prime Ministers in seven years, and the Conservatives’ economic chaos costing working families so much.

He will address the fear of job losses at Port Talbot steelworks and reiterate the Labour Party’s commitment to invest in the UK’s steel industry. He will also put Wales at the centre of Labour’s plans to deliver cleaner, cheaper energy, with investment in ports such as Holyhead, which he visited with the First Minister and the Shadow Wales Secretary in March.

Alongside economic stability, Labour’s six steps for change in Wales include working with the Welsh Government to cut NHS waiting times, recruiting new teachers, unlocking Wales’s green energy potential to cut bills, keeping our streets safe with 13,000 new neighbourhood police and getting more teachers to classrooms where they are needed.

Labour’s Six Steps to Change Wales:

1. Deliver economic stability with tough spending rules, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.

2. Cut NHS waiting times by targeting those waiting the longest and in the most need, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.

3. Launch a new Border Security Command with hundreds of new specialist investigators and use counter-terror powers to smash criminal boat gangs.

4. Set up Great British Energy a publicly-owned clean power company working with the Welsh Labour Government to cut bills for good, boost energy security and create new jobs, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants.

5. Crack down on antisocial behaviour with more neighbourhood police paid for by ending wasteful contracts, tough new penalties for offenders, and investment in youth services.

6. Recruit new teachers in key subjects to prepare children for life, work and the future, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.

Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“This is a chance to vote for a Wales finally free from the impact of Tory chaos and division. To turn the page and start to rebuild our nations – our entire country and elect a UK government that will serve the interests of working people in Wales.

“These first steps show that a changed UK Labour Party is back in the service of working people in Wales. They show our priorities, what we care about and what the public cares about. Country first, party second.

“These first steps will make a real difference to people’s lives. If you’re waiting for NHS treatment, if your child is at school and you want higher standards, if your local area is plagued by anti-social behaviour, if you want cheaper energy bills for good, these first steps show what two Labour Governments, working together, will do to help you.”

Vaughan Gething, First Minister of Wales, said:

“July 4th represents a moment at last, when we can unleash Wales’s full potential.

“With two Labour governments working in partnership, ending the churlish Tory war on devolution and backing a stronger Welsh economy.

“The UK can once again be led by a Prime Minister, and a party, that believes in public service. A leader who believes in the potential of our communities. A Prime Minister who respects and understands devolution and has a plan for national renewal.

“At this election we can allow ourselves to imagine a new Wales, no longer held back by 14 years of Tory chaos.”