Now Sky News's Beth Rigby asks Starmer if he's scaling down his promises since he set out his "five missions" last year.

"I'm not," Starmer replies. He says he's been carrying out his current strategy for four years.

He says it started with recognising the scale of Labour's defeat at the last general election, so his first step was to "change the Labour Party".

His next step was to "expose the government as incompetent". On this point, he says that he was "ably assisted by several of their prime ministers", which draws some laugher from the audience.

Starmer has just finished his speech and is now taking questions from the media.

Up first is the BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, who asks how soon into a Labour government would it reach the target of providing an extra 40,000 NHS appointments and operations a week.

Starmer says Labour would get to it "quickly".

"We've got to operate at weekends and evenings, we have to pay staff for the shifts - that is why we've already had the staffing discussions on how that would work," he says.

He says he isn't going to "put a number" on how long it would take for a Labour government to reach its target.

He says his party is "doing the work now to make sure we can hit the ground running as soon as the election is called".

Starmer moves on to Labour's plan to recruit 6,500 teachers across England.

He takes aim at Rishi Sunak, who he says is "very fond of lecturing us that we need maths to age of 18". You can read more about that here.

He jokes that the prime minister needs further maths lessons, taking aim at what he describes as a £46bn "unfunded" tax break announced by the Tories - a reference to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's ambition to abolish National Insurance.

He ends his speech by raising a card aloft which contains all six steps, describing the pledges as a "plan to change the country".

Image source, PA Media

Starmer is discussing Labour's energy plans now.

He starts off by blaming the Tories for spiralling energy costs, saying their approach was a "classic example of sticking plaster politics" which left Britain "badly exposed" when Russia invaded Ukraine.

He also mentions his pledge to crackdown on anti-social behaviour, recalling a meeting he had with teenagers who told him they don't feel safe walking down Stoke high street in broad daylight.

"That's what losing control of your streets feels like, so we've got have to crack down on antisocial behaviour", he says.

Starmer adds that Labour would deliver 13,000 new neighbourhood officers to keep "your streets safe".

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Thurrock

Every other contributor here has read pretty much word for word from an autocue.

Keir Starmer has notes on the autocue, bullet points, but he’s talking around them, engaging his audience in the room in the eye rather than just staring at the screen with the words on it.

Starmer turns now to immigration. He calls the government's Rwanda scheme a "gimmick" that "cost a fortune".

He says it deports less than 1% of people arriving by small boat.

He then references criminal gangs, who he says are putting vulnerable people on the boats and sending them to the UK.

"We have to be serious about smashing those gangs," he continues. He say a Labour government would introduce a new border security command with new resources and new powers, including counter-terrorism powers.

Starmer is now talking about NHS waiting lists. He says nearly eight million people are waiting on operations and other appointments.

"That means everyone in this room, everybody watching or listening, probably is on a waiting list or knows someone who's on a waiting list," he says.

He claims it's the "worst it's ever been".

Starmer says Labour would reduce waiting lists by providing 40,000 operations and appointments every week, which will be funded by "cracking down" on tax avoiders and the non-dom tax status.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer says today's event is important because the ambition to change the country has to start with "first steps".

On economic stability, he says former prime minister Liz Truss crashed the economy with her mini-budget in 2022.

Working people paid the price, he adds.

"I'm not going to allow a Labour government to do that kind of damage to working people," he says, to loud applause.

Starmer is now outlining his pledges, which he calls his "first steps" towards higher growth. He says they are "ready to go, fully costed, and fully funded".

He says his plans will get the NHS "back on its feet", secure borders, cheaper bills, safer streets, and "opportunities for your children".

He says the country has had enough of "14 years of failure".

"Chaos and division" has a "human cost", he says.

Starmer then tells a story about a fireman called Will, who told him that he wants to buy a home, but he can't afford it - even with two additional jobs on the side - because of "the damage that has been done by this government".

A slick, not-cheap-to-stage eventpublished at 10:52 British Summer Time 16 May

10:52 BST 16 May

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Thurrock

This is a slick, highly choreographed, not-cheap-to-stage event.

A mixture of speeches from politicians and voices sympathetic to Labour, mixed with videos and graphics.

I have been to hundreds of political events. Many pretty small. Others shambolic.

This is neither, in its attempt to project momentum and generate attention for Labour.

Beneath the surface there appear to be far more party staff buzzing about, fretting about the small details.

This is a party haunted by its dismal track record at general elections.

They lose far more than they win.

They’re desperate that that changes later this year.

We're now hearing from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is about to outline his six key pledges in a pre-election pitch to voters.

We'll be bringing you key lines here, but you can also follow our live stream by pressing the Play button at the top of this page.

Now we're hearing from Ed Miliband, Labour's shadow net zero secretary.

"Every family and business in Britain is paying the price of 14 years of Tory failure in rocketing energy bills," he says.

Miliband adds Britain is "dependent" on fossil fuel markets "controlled by dictators like Putin" under the Conservative government.

He says Labour's mission is to make Britain "energy independent" by setting up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean energy company "by and for our citizens".

This would be funded by large oil and gas companies paying "their fair share for a proper windfall tax", he says.

"This is how we cut bills for good and end the cost of living crisis."

Next is Mike Tapp, Labour's candidate for Dover and Deal in Kent.

He says Starmer is a "leader who understands how to deliver" on security, and that there will be "stronger borders" under the measures being outlined by Labour today.

"We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings", he says, before the audience is shown a couple of video clips.

The first clip features Neil Basu, a senior police officer, who argues that Labour's security plans will get a "firm grip" on tackling gangs.

We then hear from Cathy Henline, from think tank Royal United Services Institute, who says stronger resourcing is needed.

Streeting now introduces Nathaniel Dye, a cancer patient, who he describes as "the most remarkable man I know".

Dye opens his speech starkly by saying: "My name is Nathaniel Dye, and I am dying of cancer."

He says it's almost certain he'll die within three to four years, adding that he was diagnosed 20 months ago and "the clock keeps on ticking".

He says waited more than 100 days for treatment when the government's target is 62 days.

"There's a good chance that time spent on waiting lists has cut my life in half," he says.

He says he hopes to see a Labour government elected. A government he says will cut waiting times by providing more scans and appointments more quickly.

We're now hearing from Wes Streeting, the Labour shadow health secretary.

He opens by saying he "owes" his life to the NHS for his cancer recovery

Streeting adds that it's time for Labour to "rescue" the health service by cutting NHS waiting times, which he says would be achieved by making 40,000 more appointments each week.

Cutting NHS waiting lists is one of the Conservative Party's five priorities, which PM Rishi Sunak set out in January 2023.

Now, we're hearing from Rob Boughton, chief executive of Thakeham, a house building company in the south east.

He says both Rayner and Reeves visited his company recently, and he was "struck by how much they understood the housing crisis."

He says he supports Labour's ambition to growing the economy and bringing stability, which he says is "crucial so businesses can plan ahead".

He welcomes Labour's plans on housebuilding, saying: "I know [the public] want to see more quality, sustainable and affordable homes."

A successful country, he says, needs a "clear plan", which he says is why he is "encouraged" by Labour's first steps announced today.

The event is now being shown a message from Boots managing director Sebastian James, who is talking about the importance of thriving high streets and his hopes Labour will bring "sensible fiscal measures" to ease the cost of living.

Image source, PA Media

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is up now. She starts off by saying that under Keir Starmer's leadership, "we have changed the Labour party, so that we might have the chance to change our country".

She says she has "huge ambition" for Britain, but that the country is worse off after 14 years of "Conservative chaos".

She highlights Liz Truss's 2022 mini-Budget, which she says "sent mortgage bills spiralling and put pensions in peril".

She says Rishi Sunak is pushing ahead with "another unfunded tax plan" to get rid of National Insurance. She's repeating a line Labour took in March, after Sunak indicated his "long-term ambition" to scrap National Insurance in the future.

Bringing back stability and growth will take "a decade of national renewal", she says.

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Thurrock

Pretty much the entire shadow cabinet has turned up.

They have to spend the next hour and a bit staring at their bosses’ backs — they are the backdrop to the stage, sitting behind the lectern.

They’re all in conventional political gear — smart clothes, suits etc.

Except, that is, Keir Starmer, who has lost his tie and jacket and rolled his sleeves up to nearly his elbows.

It’s not that hot in here.

It’s a deliberate look — focused on trying to give the impression of hoping to get stuff done.

Angela Rayner continues with, what sounds like, a conference-style speech.

She speaks about Labour's plans to secure economic stability, and says the party will support families living in "mouldy" temporary accommodation, children learning in "crumbling classrooms" and businesses paying high energy bills, as well as improving NHS waiting list times.

She accuses the Tories of abusing the nation's trust, adding that "Labour will never take you for granted".

"Labour has a plan to get Britain back on its feet," she says, to a round of applause.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner is up first.

She begins by referencing this month's local elections, which Labour made significant gains in, including in Thurrock.

"Three short weeks ago, the people of Thurrock put their trust in Labour," she says.

She says families in Essex are "crying out for change" that only Labour can offer.

She says the event today is to announce the "first steps for a changed Labour party", which is offering a "radical and responsible plan for Britain's future".

She says 14 years of "chaos and decline" will leave many people feeling cynical, adding that the "Tory decline" was a choice by the governing party.

"Leave that pessimism at home," she asks voters.