Keir Starmer says Labour will ‘give hardworking families their future back’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has spotlighted his party’s plans for ‘hardworking families’ as the General Election campaign enters its final two weeks.

In an exclusive op-ed for Metro, Starmer set out the measures his party would take to tackle the cost of living and what he calls the ‘undermining of family life’.

He describes a country seriously damaged by 14 years of Conservative governments, with ‘soaring’ mortgages and shop prices.

The party leader writes: ‘Metro readers don’t need me to tell them that the price of the typical supermarket shop has risen by nearly £1,000 a year since the last general election, as Labour analysis uncovered. They feel it week in, week out.’

Labour would bring economic stability as its ‘top priority’ if it’s voted into government on July 4, Starmer says.

He cites the party’s manifesto pledges to turn the minimum wage into a ‘genuine living wage’, to ban zero-hours contacts and to extend sick pay.

Starmer also reiterates his promise not to raise the ‘big three’ taxes on working people: national insurance, VAT and income tax.

In recent interviews, he has refused to rule out increasing other taxes such as council tax, but said all the party’s manifesto promises are fully costed with measures explained in the document.

The Labour Party has maintained a lead in the polls of around 20 points since before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the General Election last month.

If predictions of a large landslide bear out, the party’s manifesto – unveiled at the headquarters of the Co-op in Manchester last week – will act as the blueprint for the direction of the country over the next five years.

Starmer writes: ‘I know we can’t wave a magic wand and pretend that everything will be fixed overnight.

‘But step by step we need to lift the cloud of anxiety that is hovering above hard working families. People deserve to feel optimistic about the future, not dread.

‘Labour’s manifesto will give hardworking families their future back.’

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves will join Starmer on a visit to a supermarket in Wiltshire today, as the pair aim to focus on family finance.

Reeves said: ‘I will always put family finances first. As chancellor, I will tackle the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis so we can make working people and their families better off.

‘That includes creating a publicly owned clean energy company to power Britain’s future energy security, take control of our energy supply and bring down bills.’

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