Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership with a series of pledges to show he is “delivering change”, including 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and a named “bobby on every beat”.
In a speech Labour hopes will set out the “next phase” of government, the prime minister will detail half a dozen “milestone” targets covering living standards, NHS backlogs, secure energy, housebuilding and children’s readiness for school.
As part of a promise to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour, he will say that every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have a named, contactable police officer.
Each police force will also have an antisocial behaviour lead tasked with coming up with ways to tackle concerns raised by local residents and businesses.
Starmer will pledge 13,000 more neighbourhood police, PCSOs and special constables by 2029, with an additional £100m of funding.
“These officers must demonstrably spend time on visible patrol and not be taken off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere,” he will say.
The boost would bring the total police workforce to a level above its 2010 peak.
After ministers were accused of blindsiding businesses with a big increase in employer national insurance contributions in the budget, the heads of three high street retailers – Asda, Co-op and McDonald’s – endorsed the “neighbourhood policing guarantee”.
The promise will prompt comparisons with the Blair-era “tough on crime” slogan. Many of the plans were first outlined by Labour last year.
The attempted reboot – labelled Starmer’s “plan for change” – follows a rocky first five months in power for the government.
A major tax and spend budget was welcomed by campaigners for greater spending on public services but sapped business confidence and led to protests by farmers. Starmer has also faced a row over ministers enjoying freebies, and the resignations of both his chief of staff, Sue Gray and his transport secretary, Louise Haigh, who quit after it emerged she had been convicted of fraud over a missing work phone.
The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has branded Thursday’s speech an “emergency reset”.
But Starmer will say claim that the new “milestones” are the next phase of the “missions” he said would shape a Labour government. But it is also a tacit admission that those missions are being dumped as they were either too woolly or not achievable.
The missions were: achieving the highest growth out of G7 countries, making Britain a “clean energy superpower”, halving serious violent crime, breaking down “barriers to opportunity” and building an NHS “fit for the future”.
No 10 insiders have argued that numerical targets are more memorable for voters. “We’ll be putting them [the missions] into layman’s terms,” said one source last week.
The Guardian has reported that the planned reset is being driven by Morgan McSweeney, who replaced Gray as chief of staff. “Morgan knows our best chance of holding off a populist surge, and winning Keir a second term, is delivering noticeable change to voters,” an ally said.
In his speech on Thursday, Starmer will say: “My government was elected to deliver change, and today marks the next step. People are tired of being promised the world, but short-term sticking plaster politics is letting them down.
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“Hardworking Brits are going out grafting every day but are getting short shrift from a politics that should serve them. They reasonably want a stable economy, their country to be safe, their borders secure, more cash in their pocket, safer streets in their town, opportunities for their children, secure British energy in their home, and an NHS that is there when they need it. My mission-led government will deliver.”
On the crime and antisocial behaviour plan, he will add: “The neighbourhood policing guarantee will deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police, visible on your streets, cracking down on antisocial behaviour. A named, contactable officer in every community. A relief to millions of people scared to walk their streets they call home.
“But it’s a pledge that is only possible because we are matching investment with reform; standardising procurement, streamlining specialist services like forensics, and ending the madness of 43 forces purchasing their own cars and uniforms.”
Shops have complained of facing an epidemic of shoplifting in the past year, fuelled in large part by the cost of living crisis.
Liz Evans, the chief commercial officer at Asda, said: “Asda welcomes the introduction of the neighbourhood policing guarantee and the new role for businesses in shaping local policing priorities.
“At the heart of communities, retailers see every day the devastating impact retail crime is having on our colleagues and our customers. The changes introduced today are positive, and Asda stands ready to work in partnership with our new neighbourhood officers to help reduce crime and improve safety in the communities we serve.”
Alistair Macrow, the CEO of McDonald’s UK, said: “Addressing and raising awareness of antisocial behaviour is essential in keeping high streets and local communities safe.” Paul Gerrard, Co-op’s campaigns and public affairs director, said: “The Co-op sees every day in our stores and in the communities they serve the impact of crime and antisocial behaviour so we welcome the government’s action today.”
Police numbers fell following the 2010 election, when David Cameron came to power, before rising again after 2019 as the previous government pledged to recruit 20,000 police officers. While the number of officers reached record levels, the number of PCSOs and special constables continued to decline.
The Conservatives said only a third of the 13,000 new recruits would be full police officers, while the £100m would not cover what was needed to pay for them, leading to cuts elsewhere.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “The Conservatives recruited over 20,000 extra police officers and gave the police an extra £922m for policing this year, ensuring the police could protect the public and prosecute more criminals. Starmer has once again misled the public by claiming to recruit an extra 13,000 officers when the actual number is 3,000, and even that is not properly funded.”
Source: theguardian.com
