Six takeaways from Keir Starmer’s ‘plan for change’

Labour has not dropped its commitment for the UK to have the highest sustained growth in the G7 – despite speculation that it was being quietly ditched.

But Sir Keir now wants to talk about it in a way that he thinks will mean something to the average voter.

The key test at the next election, he believes, is whether voters feel better off or not.

The measure of this will be something called “real household disposable income” (RHDI).

But he has not set a target for how much it should go up by, leading some to suggest it was meaningless.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility has already predicted RHDI will rise by an average of 0.5% per year in this Parliament, 3.5% overall.

Sir Keir sidestepped reporters’ questions, insisting standards of living had fallen under the Conservatives – and that people knew when they were better off.

That had been tested in July’s general election, he added, saying people on their doorsteps across the country had told him they felt worse off.

But during the Conservative government of 2019-2024, real household disposable income did technically increase, by an average of 0.3%.