The Starmer Stone! Keir apes Blair

Keir Starmer is trumpeting an election 'pledge card' today as he tries to show voters he is ready for government.

The Labour leader will ape Tony Blair's tactics with six commitments, and has added 'smashing the criminal boat gangs' after a backlash that there was no reference to immigration in his previous 'missions'.

However, the move will also evoke memories of the notorious 'Ed Stone' episode, when Ed Miliband had his vows engraved on a three-metre high slab of granite.

That was seen as sealing his doom in 2015, when Labour hopes of victory were dashed by David Cameron.   

The six promises – dubbed the 'first steps to change Britain' – will be printed on a card for distribution to voters, and accompanied by a big advertising push.

Sir Keir will give a speech launching them in Essex this morning. 

A mock-up of how the new Labour pledges could look on a stone tablet

Sir Keir will give a speech launching them in Essex this morning alongside other members of the shadow cabinet

The card features no new policy, and immigration is the only addition to the original five missions. 

Labour sources said they would provide a 'bridge' to delivering the party's vision, but the wording on several of the promises has been watered down significantly. 

Labour's six pledges 

1. Deliver economic stability with tough spending rules, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.

2. Cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments each week, during evenings and weekends, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.

3. Launch a new Border Security Command with hundreds of new specialist investigators and use counter-terror powers to smash the criminal boat gangs.

4. Set up Great British Energy a publicly-owned clean power company, to cut bills for good and boost energy security, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants.

5. Crack down on antisocial behaviour with more neighbourhood police paid for by ending wasteful contracts, tough new penalties for offenders, and a new network of youth hubs.

6. Recruit 6,500 new teachers in key subjects to prepare children for life, work and the future, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.

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The original pledge to raise economic growth to the fastest rate in the G7 has been replaced by a commitment to 'Deliver economic stability, so we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible'.

On the NHS, Labour will pledge to 'cut waiting times' with the introduction of 40,000 extra appointments a week.

The immigration pledge does not mention Sir Keir's determination to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme. 

Instead, it focuses on his plan to establish a new 'Border Security Command' to take the fight to the people smuggling gangs.

The green pledge focuses on setting up a new state-owned energy firm, rather than the controversial target of decarbonising the entire electricity system by 2030.

On crime, Labour will promise to 'crack down on antisocial behaviour' but gives no indication of how many extra police officers might be recruited.

On education, the pledge focuses on the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers, paid for by the controversial policy of putting VAT on private school fees.

A Labour spokesman insisted that other priorities had not been downgraded and would still be included in the manifesto.

Sir Keir said: 'These first steps make real our claim that a changed Labour Party is back in service of working people. They show our priorities, what we care about and what the British public cares about. Country first, party second.'

The new pledges are markedly different to the ten promises Sir Keir made when standing for the Labour leadership in 2020, when he promised to raise income tax for the better off, nationalise the utilities and 'defend migrants' rights'.

Most of those promises have since been dumped as he tried to reposition the party to a stance from which it could win power.

Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said: 'Sir Keir Starmer's been Labour leader for four years but still has no coherent plan. 

'Labour's asylum amnesty, colossal unfunded spending commitments, and higher taxes would take us back to square one.'

The Labour leader will ape Tony Blair's tactics (pictured) with six commitments, and has added 'smashing the criminal boat gangs'

Rather than emphasising Sir Keir's pledge to scrap the Government's Rwanda scheme, the pledge cards will outline his plan for a 'Border Security Command'. Pictured: Two inflatable dinghies carrying migrants make their way towards England in the English Channel