Keir Starmer's 2024 Plan for Change with Measurable Milestones Across Key Sectors
In December 2024, Keir Starmer outlined a comprehensive plan aimed at change with measurable milestones across housing, health, living standards, crime, education, and clean power to be tracked and held to account.
In housing, the target is to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England by 2029, measured by net additional dwellings. The current pace is around 200,000 homes per year, which is below the 300,000 annual rate implied by the target and lower than the delivery rate in the final years of the prior Conservative government.
Regarding NHS waiting times, there is a pledge that 92% of patients in England should be seen within 18 weeks by the end of Parliament. However, the latest available data from October 2025 shows only 61.7% of patients seen within this target. The last time 92% was achieved was in 2015. Waiting list data is released about six weeks after the month-end.
For living standards, the plan aims to raise standards through growth in real household disposable income (RHDI) per person. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts an average annual growth of approximately 0.5%, while GDP per head is expected to rise about 1% in 2025. Quarterly data on these metrics is published with a three- to six-week cadence depending on the measure.
In crime, the pledge includes creating 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing roles—including officers, PCSOs, and special constables—by the end of Parliament. As of 31 March 2025, there were 17,175 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles in neighbourhood policing, an increase of 214 since 31 March 2024. Detailed neighbourhood policing figures are expected in January 2026, with semi-annual updates thereafter.
The education target is for 75% of five-year-olds in England to be ready to learn. Data from 2024-25 shows 68.3% achieving a good level of development. Figures for 2027-28 are due in November 2028.
Finally, in clean power, the goal is to achieve at least 95% clean power by 2030, which is a slight reinterpretation of the manifesto pledge of zero-carbon electricity by that year. The National Energy Security Office (NESO) stated in 2024 that achieving this is feasible but approaches the limit. In 2024, the clean power share was 73.8%. Updates on low- and no-carbon energy share are provided quarterly via the Energy Trends publication.
