Starmer unveils £1.5bn plan for weekend doctors as he warns party to not 'get giddy' on poll lead at conference

7 October 2023, 23:33 | Updated: 8 October 2023, 00:10

Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled his £1.5bn plan to save the NHS - as he warns his party to not get 'giddy' at the thought of power as they head into an election year.

Sir Keir told the Observer that the prospect of next year's general election should not see their supporters getting high on the thought of power.

He said that the party need to "go up another gear" to win the election and form their first Government since 2010.

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The Labour leader also set out his plans to end the non-domicile tax status to fund overtime payments for doctors and nurses in order to provide scans and operations on the weekend to clear pandemic backlogs.

At the start of Labour's conference in Liverpool, he told the Sunday Mirror: “I think everybody knows someone who’s on the NHS waiting list. And I’m certainly not immune from that.

"This is a period of high anxiety for individuals – huge personal discomfort in many cases."

Sir Keir's Labour enjoys a double-digit lead in the polls and remains on track for a triple-digit majority if an election was held tomorrow.

Starmer is also set to announce Marina Wheeler KC, top lawyer and Boris Johnson's ex-wife, as a "whistleblowing tsar" to reform employment rights.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will detail Labour’s plans for economic growth on Monday, before Sir Keir’s keynote address on Tuesday.

This could mean cutting energy bills for people who live near onshore wind farms or electricity pylons.

“I think that people deserve something in return,” she told the paper. “It’s the same with housing.”