Rishi Sunak says his "working assumption" is to call a general election for the second half of this year
It was thought Sunak could call an election in May - but that seems to have been ruled out
Labour leader Keir Starmer accuses Sunak of "squatting in Downing Street for months on end"
Sunak gave the election update after Labour leader Keir Starmer made his new year pitch to voters
In a speech in Bristol, Starmer set out what he called "project hope" for the "downtrodden" UK
Despite saying people are right to be "anti-Westminster", he says the country can "get its future back"
He also says his priority is for "economic growth" before reducing income tax
Starmer turns his fire on the Tories, saying what used to be their strength "is now their weakness".
The "so-called party of business which now hates business, the party that crashed the economy and made you pay", he continues.
Their credit rating is now zero, he says.
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
"Project fear" has become a political catchphrase over the past decade.
It first came into common usage during the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, where nationalists argued that the unionists were deliberately fearmongering.
Two years later in the EU referendum the phrase came up again and again - and since then it has been regularly reached for by politicians accusing their opponents of being too downbeat.
Today, Keir Starmer is offering his alternative: "Project hope".
Yet it was striking, too, that he quickly tempered that language by saying his offer was “credible hope” and “frank hope” rather than “grandiose utopian hope”.
Labour strategists may well fear that the public is suspicious of over-ambitious promises.
Starmer continues: "Written through this new plan I also promise a total overhaul of how we approach the economy and government."
He says there will be more "ambition and focus" in government and says that the Tories have "denigrated people who serve this country" and showed "total lack of respect".
"I don't see our job as going back to golden age... Government is too centralised and controlling and, because of that, it's too disconnected from the communities it needs to serve."
Starmer says Labour is no longer about "gesture politics" but dedicated to service and a "new purpose".
He promises to tilt the economy back to interests of working people.
Starmer then sets out his missions: higher growth; reform of the planning system; safer streets with more police; cheaper bills with a new publicly-owned GB Energy; new technical excellence colleges; better mental health support and more teachers in schools; and an NHS "back on its feet" with a plan to cut waiting lists.
Keir Starmer appeals to the voters again. To "heal the wounds" of the last 14 years, he says, "Britain must come together".
And whether it is someone's first time voting Labour, if you consistently have, or will choose not to, he says his party "will serve you" regardless.
Starmer adds that Labour is a changed party since the last election in 2019.
Iain Watson
Political correspondent
Labour has what looks like a commanding lead in the polls - on average 17 or 18 points ahead recently.
But some senior Labour figures of Keir Starmer's generation are haunted by the spectre of 1992 when the Conservatives won a narrow victory after 13 years (and a change of leadership).
So the Labour leader wants to address the feeling among some target voters that are disillusioned not just with the government but with all politicians.
His task today and this year is to convince people he can make a difference.
Starmer has coined the phrase "Project Hope" - in this speech, but people will want to see the substance behind the slogan.
"Trust in politics is now so low no one believes you can make a difference," Starmer says.
He talks about the recent Tory scandals and the handling of the pandemic and says: "Some looked at us and concluded that we are all in it for ourselves."
Starmer says the nation is "exhausted" and "after failing to deliver change" the Tories "now sense the opportunity of a new strategy, an attempt to take change option of the table."
"Their strategy has one eye on salting the earth of Britain's future," he adds.
Starmer again acknowledges there is widespread cynicism about politics, saying people need "credible hope" which levels with them about the "hard road ahead".
He says Labour's goals are "unapologetically ambitious", but will take hard work and determination.
And the biggest challenge, he adds, is people's "shrug of the shoulder" about Westminster.
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
Starmer began his speech by wishing those in attendance a happy new year, before launching into what he described as a “new year message of hope”.
The Labour leader said 2024 would be “a year of choice”, heralding “the moment when power is taken out of Tory hands”.
He told those who have been “serving our country” in different ways that “this is your year”.
The extracts from this speech Labour released overnight had been strikingly gloomy, referring to a “downtrodden country” and the anti-politics mood out in the country.
This opening from Starmer is strikingly sunny.
That contrast shows the delicate political dance he is trying to perform — decrying the state of not just the government but politics in general, while persuading people that they can trust him to change things.
On that note, he says getting Britain back will be "a huge test".
The Tories and their way of doing politics must be defeated, the Labour leader warns.
Labour's way, Starmer says, is one that "will leave no stone unturned".
He says they will do this to find "every opportunity for division", leaving a "risk" to the public of five more years of a government he calls "entitled" and "self-serving".
Starmer continues: "I believe in this country, in its spirit, its businesses, its people, its communities".
He says if the British people "see respect and service in their politics" and a "path finally to an economy that rewards and respects their efforts", then they "will commit to a mission of national renewal and believe Britain will get its future back".
Starmer builds on his theme of the power of the vote.
He says: "You’re right to be anti-Westminster and angry about what politics has become."
But he then urges people to hold on to hope that things can be better.
"You can reject the pointless populist gestures and the low-road cynicism that the Tories believe is all you deserve. That’s all they have left now."
Image source, PA MediaStarmer continues on the theme of the responsibility government now.
He says politics is "not a game", adding it is not something that should not be a "hobby" or "vanity dressed up as virtue".
It should be "a higher calling" instead, he says, telling the audience he believes in the power of the vote and of change.
Starmer says that for four years he has worked "for the chance to tilt the country back" towards the interests of working people.
"It's been a long slog," he says.
"I've hated the futility of opposition, the powerlessness and - yes - the pain that comes from watching the Tories drive the country I love into the rocks of decline."
Starmer adds that he "came into politics to serve, to get things done” and to “make a difference".
“That's what gets me up in the morning.
"It's why I still believe in politics," the Labour leader says.
Starmer says if you've spent 14 years "breaking your back to keep trading, steering your business through the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the challenge of Brexit and the chaos of Westminster... whether in scrubs or the uniform of your regiment and what you want now is a politics that serves you, then make no mistake - this is your year".
That is a "new year message of hope", he adds, "the power of the vote, and the potential for national renewal”.
Starmer wastes no time after a cheery round of applause, telling the audience he needs to be careful with his new year's message - referencing when Boris Johnson used his chance in 2020 to say it would be a "fantastic year".
He also jokes about his own prediction last year that Arsenal would see glory in the Premier League.
Moving onto the topic of the general election, it is something Starmer says is the "one thing" we can be sure of this year.
He tells the audience it will be the "chance to change Britain", with the UK facing a "year of choice".
Image source, ReutersArsenal missed out on the Premier League title in 2023 and ended the year in fourth place
The political cobwebs are being dusted off as Labour leader Keir Starmer takes to the stage, to begin his first speech of the new year.
It’s unlikely we will hear any new policies, with Starmer using the speech in Bristol as a chance to urge voters to choose his party ahead of the general election that's likely to be this year.
We’ll be bringing you the key lines from our office in London, but you can watch the speech by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.
While we wait for Starmer to begin, let's look at the state of the polls.
The 2019 election saw a huge loss for Labour under Jeremy Corbyn, with the party returning its lowest number of seats for 80 years.
But the next election could mark a change for the party, which holds significant leads over the Conservatives.
As of 22 December, Labour held an 18-point lead over the Tories in poll of polls, external - garnering 43% of voters' support compared to the Tories sitting on 25%.
However, Keir Starmer has acknowledged that achieving a majority in this year’s election would require "a larger swing than Tony Blair's in 1997".
He has said Labour need to win “every single vote” and need to "fight like we're five points behind in the polls".
Meanwhile Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing the biggest challenge to his authority as he faces a rebellion among right-wing MPs on his migration plan.
You can read more of the BBC’s information on the polls here.
Chris Mason
Political editor
Every year, at this time of year, political leaders do that "casting ahead" thing.
They try to channel the sentiment that some of us entertain, for at least a few weeks, when the calendar turns from one year to the next - the whole resolutions, fresh start vibe.
And when you are an opposition party, and we are in the year of a general election campaign, as we now are, that is a feeling you want to tap into.
Labour leader Keir Starmer is trying to do exactly that with this speech.
Image source, PA MediaStarmer says he plans to reduce energy bills
Starmer is known to criticise “short term sticking-plaster politics” that he believes has characterised British politics over the last 14 years of Tory rule.
The Labour leader has argued “it’s time to get Britain back” through his five missions, external:
1. ‘Get Britain building again’
This one aims to improve opportunities for first time buyers and the building of more homes in the UK. It also plans to “reduce energy bills and invest in the jobs and industries of the future” through Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan.
2. ‘Switch on great British energy’
Starmer has set out plans to create a publicly-owned, clean power generation firm to lower energy bills and deliver jobs.
3. ‘Get the NHS back on its feet’
This pledge focuses on cutting NHS waiting times and getting better results for cancer patients, along with more community care so patients “aren’t stuck in hospital”.
4. ‘Take back our streets’
With this objective Labour claims to promise an effort towards 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on Britain’s streets, along with “halving violence against women and girls”.
5. ‘Break down barriers to opportunities’
This fifth mission’s aim, according to Labour, will introduce a broader curriculum and more apprenticeships to “spread opportunity for all”.