Starmer sets out pledges - and denies they're dilutedpublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 16 May

13:25 BST 16 May

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Is Sir Keir Starmer actually diluting what he’d previously pledged to do?

After the Labour leader's speech, Beth Rigby of Sky News honed in on this with her question.

In early 2023, Sir Keir said the first of his five missions was to "achieve the highest sustained economic growth in the G7 by the end of Labour’s first term".

Today the first step is to deliver "economic security". On energy it was zero-carbon electricity by 2030 - now it's to set up a publicly-owned clean power company called "Great British Energy".

Sir Keir’s answer was: “I’m not scaling back on our ambition absolutely at all."

He argued: "This is not to reduce the missions, this is to say what is the first down payment on the delivery of those missions, what are the first steps we can take."

"The missions remain."

For Labour this is about what it can deliver on the way to those ends. Its opponents will try to argue that Sir Keir is shifting his ground.

We're closing our coverage soon - thank you for reading.

Today's editors were Aoife Walsh, Emily McGarvey, and Ido Vock. The writers were James Gregory, Hollie Cole, Ian Aikman, and Joe McFadden, with our political editor Chris Mason reporting from Keir Starmer's speech in Essex.

Our final post, being published next, comes from our political correspondent Damian Grammaticas.

It's been a busy day for Labour at its event in Thurrock. To recap on today's events:

• Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer outlined his party's six pledges for the next general election, saying the country had suffered "14 years of failure" under Conservative governments
• The priorities include setting up a border security command, recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England, and creating Great British Energy to generate clean energy and cut bills
• Starmer also said Labour would provide 40,000 appointments and operations per week to help tackle NHS waiting lists
• He said Labour's pledges were fully costed and that voters could expect to see them delivered within two terms of a Labour government
• Separately, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told ITV's Loose Women that he would remain an MP if he lost the next general election - after saying being on the show was one of the more "intimidating things" he's done as PM

Switching focus back to Starmer's speech this morning - which included many measures which would apply only to England.

This is because some areas of government, like health, are under the responsibility of the UK's devolved administrations.

Labour is expected to set out a separate set of pledges dealing specifically with issues in Scotland and Wales, with separate launch events as well.

But there has been criticism from the SNP that Starmer made "no mention of Scotland" in his speech. The party's deputy leader at Westminster, Mhari Black, said he intends to be "prime minister for England only".

The last question comes from Jane Moore. Being prime minister must keep Sunak away from his family. Does that weigh on him, she asks.

"Of course it weighs on me," Sunak answers.

She asks the PM if he'll stay on as an MP if his party isn't elected in the general election. In what may be a scoop for Loose Women, Sunak pledges to remain in parliament even if not returned as PM.

"Yes, of course I'm staying," he says, paying tribute to his constituency of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

And that's all they have time for. Notably, Starmer's speech today was not mentioned at all during the interview.

Image source, PA Media

A characteristically blunt question from Janet Street-Porter, who asks the prime minister: "Why do you hate pensioners?"

She claims pensioners have come out worse under the Conservative government, with many living in poverty and the basic pension very close to the tax threshold.

Sunak responds by saying he believes "dignity and respect" in retirement is important. He says he is committed to the triple lock, first introduced under the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.

The state pension has gone up by £900, he adds.

Sunak is now being questioned about smartphone use by children.

He says his two children got smartphones in their final year of primary school, which he makes sure they use "responsibly".

The PM tells Loose Women that kids in the UK are being exposed to things that are not appropriate. Parents should "familiarise" themselves with parental controls on smart devices, he says.

The panel ask Sunak about changes to guidelines on how sex education should be taught, given the prevalence of online pornography.

Sunak defends the changes, saying parents should be able to know what their children are being taught in schools. Sex education should come at an "appropriate time," he adds.

The Loose Women panel start their show by introducing Rishi Sunak, asking whether he's a fan of the programme.

He says he sometimes sees it on at the back of the office. Being on the panel is one of the more "intimidating things" he's ever done, he adds.

Image source, Shutterstock

We might be getting some further reaction to Keir Starmer's speech from the prime minister, who will be speaking to ITV's Loose Women programme.

Loose Women posted on X that Rishi Sunak would be speaking to the panel about the "topics that matter most to you [the audience]".

He's just appeared - we'll bring you the best lines very shortly.

Can Labour find the teachers it is promising?published at 12:28 British Summer Time 16 May

12:28 BST 16 May

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

England has a shortage of teachers in many crucial secondary subjects from maths and physics to modern foreign languages.

So 15 out of 18 subjects recruited too few graduates to start training last year.

Labour plans to remove the VAT exemption on private school fees, and end business rate relief for these schools in order to fund more teachers for state schools.

Independent economists at the IFS say these measures should raise £1.6bn a year, and there is little evidence that rising fees since 2010 have deterred those want to choose an independent school.

Money alone may not be enough to making teaching more attractive.

With other graduate jobs offering hybrid home-office working, it’s harder to sell turning up every day to face a thousand kids in back to back lessons in a secondary school.

Workload is a big issue for teachers. Some schools are trialling a 9 day fortnight, to give teachers a day at home to prepare.

As a short term measure others are recruiting PE teachers and retraining them to teach maths.

The current government is expected to offer a pay increase of 1-2% to teachers in England for the next school year, which is likely to lead to a simmering pay dispute and the possibility of strike ballots in the run up to any election.

We're getting some reaction to Starmer's speech from the Conservative side now.

Tory MP Penny Mordaunt drew inspiration from The Beatles to mock Starmer's pledge card in Parliament this morning.

The House of Commons leader branded Starmer a "Nowhere Man," after the band's 1965 song of the same name.

Riffing on the song's lyrics, she told the Commons: "With apologies to The Beatles, this leader of the opposition is a nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

"He doesn't have a point of view, he's no good for me or you, and judging by this latest pledge card he is nowhere near good enough for Britain.

"There's no vision, no plan, no principles on which to steer by, which is why this pledge card will go the same way of all the others."

Image source, ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

We've come to the end of Starmer's speech setting out the first steps Labour would take if elected.

If you missed it, here's a summary of some of the key points:

• He said his six pledges were "fully costed" and the public could expect to see them delivered within two terms of a Labour government
• He took aim at the Conservatives' record in government, claiming the public have had enough of "14 years of failure"
• He described some government policies - including the Rwanda asylum scheme - as "gimmicks"
• He said working people had paid the price for former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini budget in 2022, including through higher mortgage bills
• He claimed Labour would reduce the NHS waiting list - the "worst it's ever been" - by providing a further 40,000 operations and appointments every week

• He said Labour would target criminal gangs through a new border security command to put a stop to small boat crossings

Hard to be sure about Labour’s costingspublished at 11:58 British Summer Time 16 May

11:58 BST 16 May

Labour has set out a list of priorities should it win the election. Some of them would be paid for by measures that it’s very hard to put a value to.

For example, Labour says 6,500 extra teachers would be paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, external – an independent think tank – estimates ending VAT on private schools would raise £1.6bn, but pupils moving from private education to the state sector would cost between £100m and £300m. Other research, external puts that cost much higher at £600m.

In another pledge, Labour says Great British Energy would be paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

How much that raises depends on how high energy prices are. And there is already a windfall tax on energy companies: the Energy Profits Levy, introduced in May 2022 at 25% and then increased in January 2023 to 35%.

It is supposed to stay in place until March 2029 unless oil and gas prices drop below a certain level for six months. Labour want to increase it to 38% and reduce the investment allowances, which it refers to as loopholes.

Image source, PA Media

We're now bringing you some other questions Starmer was earlier asked by the press.

The Telegraph's Ben Riley-Smith pointed out Starmer's parallels with Tony Blair in 1997. Blair had five pledges, Starmer has six; Blair would often take his tie off at big events, as Starmer has done today.

"What do you say to people who claim you're just a copycat Blair?", Riley-Smith asked, eliciting a laugh from Starmer.

"Well the first thing I'd say about Tony Blair, other than he took his tie off at big events, is that he won three elections in a row," Starmer retorted.

He mentioned that Labour has only won power from opposition effectively three times, with Attlee in 1945, Wilson in 1964 and Blair in 1997 (although Wilson did defeat a Tory government again twice in 1974).

Starmer concluded he was not a copycat because today's challenges are not the same as those faced by Blair.

Starmer has just finished answering media questions, but stay with us as we'll be wrapping up the key lines and reaction from this morning's events here on this page.

A question from the Metro asks why there's "no direct mention" in the booklet handout of the climate or the environment.

Starmer starts his answer by referring to Labour's pledge to set up clean energy company Great British Energy.

He says that would be one of the first steps to having 100% of the UK's power being clean by 2030.

"Renewable energy is safer than fossil fuels, and it is also the right thing to do for the planet."

Image source, PA

The Daily Mail's Kumail Jaffer puts to Starmer that some voters abandoned Labour in the recent local elections over the party's position on issues like the Israel-Gaza war, and asks how he will win them back.

Starmer says those elections showed Labour "can win anywhere".

He says the missions his party is setting out are part of a "decade-long national project", adding that "most people want to see their country move forward".

Starmer is now asked where ending children's poverty lies on his list of priorities.

He says the issue would be "central" to an incoming Labour government, explaining that it can't be divorced from improving education, housing, and the cost of living.

He goes on to say that he doesn't want to make promises he can't deliver on, because the "economy has been damaged".

Image source, PA

ITV's Robert Peston now asks Starmer how he would respond to suggestions that his first steps aren't ambitious enough.

Starmer responds by saying the government have "beaten the hope out of people" that "politics can be a force for good and that change and hope is possible".

He says this is why he's putting serious long term proposals forward by and points out that these are first steps.

"I don't accept that they're small first steps - if you're waiting on a waiting list, this is a change that makes a difference, it's a massive difference, it matters to you.

"If you can't pay your bills or buy a house, these are huge changes that really matter."