The Labour leader said "most reasonable, tolerant people" in the country wanted what his party wanted for Britain, before he received an extraordinary endorsement from Boots' chief executive, Sebastian James, an Old Etonian who was a member of the Bullingdon Club alongside David Cameron.
James, who is pictured in the infamous Bullingdon Club photograph alongside Cameron and Boris Johnson, appeared in a video message endorsing Rachel Reeves' plans for economic stability.
The Labour leader told the launch event in Essex, attended by the entire shadow cabinet:
"There is no quick fix to the mess that the Tories have made of this country."
But he said the public could expect to see his six pledges materialise within two terms of a Labour government, noting: "We won't be forgiven if we're not prepared on day one, if we are privileged enough to come in to serve."
The Labour leader rejected suggestions the pledges were unambitious, saying that restoring stability must be the party's first step before it embarks on any more ambitious plans. "This is a very different moment to 1997, after the damage that's been done in the last 14 years," he said.
Starmer said he had recently spoken to a couple in Wolverhampton who had decided they could not afford to have a second child.
"I'm not prepared to let an incoming Labour government ever do that kind of damage to working people," he told the audience. "That's why I can hardly believe I'm saying this: stability is change, and that's why it has to be our first step."
この記事は The Guardian の May 17, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Guardian の May 17, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
New year refresh A month-by-month guide to sorting out your finances
Rupert Jones and Hilary Osborne offer a checklist of the vital tasks you need to tackle throughout the year, from filing your tax return to making the most of your holiday cash
Lost in music How Britain's clubs are disappearing fast - and why they are worth rescuing
When the patrons of Watford's Przym nightclub celebrated New Year's Eve a year ago, they were marking the end of an era - or rather, seven eras.
Nissan shares down 15% as investors react to plan for merger
Shares in the Japanese carmaker Nissan have taken their biggest fall since August's stock market sell-off, as investors turned their attention to the company's planned tie-up with domestic rivals Honda and Mitsubishi.
Climbing out of trouble? Rise in share price suggests BA's turbulent days may be over
It's been a long and turbulent time since anyone used British Airways' old slogan \"the world's favourite airline\" with a straight face.
North-south divide flips as EU's periphery beats core economies
The European Central Bank is facing a tough balancing act in 2025, trying to navigate a reversal of fortunes in eurozone economies as the hardest-hit nations of the 2010s debt crisis outperform the traditional core.
Number of retailers on the brink of collapse up by 25%
Footfall levels up 18% on Christmas Eve compared with last year.
London-listed mining company halts operations in Mozambique
The London-listed mining company Gemfields said yesterday it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups \"took advantage\" of political unrest to attempt to invade and set fire to its site, resulting in two deaths.
Aid convoy reaches besieged area of Sudanese capital
An aid convoy has reached a besieged area of Khartoum for the first time since Sudan's civil war broke out in April 2023, bringing food and medicines in a country where half of the people are at risk of starvation.
Mexico The mayor who turned wasteland into a utopia
Mexico City's mayor, Clara Brugada, has never been afraid to court controversy and has taken some imaginative steps in her efforts to undo decades of economic and cultural inequality.
Crisis on cat island On Aoshima, is time finally running out for human and feline inhabitants?
The reason for Aoshima's nickname is clear before we set foot on the island.