Five months since his Labour Party won a landslide election victory, Starmer set out firm targets, something he hopes will allow voters to measure his government’s success in meeting his so-called missions before Britain’s next vote due in 2029.

His officials deny the “plan for change” is a reset of his new government, but rather a way to make his goals more concrete and understandable to voters more distrustful of politics after years of chaos under the former Conservative administration and Labour’s missteps in its first months in power.

But it is risky, with his and his party’s popularity plunging and the opposition Conservative Party and the right-wing populist Reform Party ready to pounce if his government fails to achieve his goals, particularly on immigration.

Launching his plans at a film studio not far from the capital London, Starmer said: “[This] is my plan for change. The driving purpose of this government and we will stay the course.”