live from london, this is bbc news. the first full week of the general election gets under way. we are expecting a major speech from a labour's sir keir starmer. we will watch it live in a moment. the authorities in papua new guinea say they estimate that more than 2,000 people were buried by a huge landslide on friday. cases of melanoma skin cancer are set to hit record levels as charities warn us to do more to protect ourselves from the sun. hello, i'm kasia madera. sir keir starmer will attempt to appeal to undecided voters

in a keynote speech this morning, saying they can trust labour with the nation's finances, security and borders. but the conservatives say he has no clear plan. we're expecting to hear from the labour leader in the next few minutes — he's due to give his first major speech of the campaign. let's speak to emma purnell, a political commentator who is currently a member of the labour party. emma, we are expecting search care to appeal to voters that they can trust him?— care to appeal to voters that they can trust him? yes, this is clearly a seech can trust him? yes, this is clearly a speech aimed _ can trust him? yes, this is clearly a speech aimed at _ can trust him? yes, this is clearly a speech aimed at floating - can trust him? yes, this is clearly| a speech aimed at floating voters. 0n the thing about undecided voters is that they are considering labour, but they haven't yet made the final decision. so the speeches about reassuring any concerns they might have in areas where labour were

considered weak in the last election. ., considered weak in the last election-— considered weak in the last election. ., ., ., . , election. you are a current member ofthe election. you are a current member of the labour— election. you are a current member of the labour party. _ election. you are a current member of the labour party. i _ election. you are a current member of the labour party. i have - election. you are a current member of the labour party. i have been - election. you are a current member of the labour party. i have been a l of the labour party. i have been a memberfor— of the labour party. i have been a member for about _ of the labour party. i have been a member for about 37 _ of the labour party. i have been a member for about 37 years! - of the labour party. i have been a member for about 37 years! good | of the labour party. i have been a i member for about 37 years! good of ou to member for about 37 years! good of you to clarify — member for about 37 years! good of you to clarify that. _ member for about 37 years! good of you to clarify that. it's _ member for about 37 years! good of you to clarify that. it's critical- you to clarify that. it's critical to know that background. but in terms of sir keir starmer, how well is he putting himself across in your opinion? i is he putting himself across in your oinion? ~' ,, ., , ., opinion? i think keir starmer is a different politician _ opinion? i think keir starmer is a different politician from - opinion? i think keir starmer is a different politician from what - opinion? i think keir starmer is a different politician from what we | different politician from what we are used to in many ways. he is not are used to in many ways. he is not a superstar, not a tony blair or a borisjohnson. but in some ways, thatis borisjohnson. but in some ways, that is actually better. people who rise me directly also for in a meteoric way. that calm, steady quality of sir keir starmer might be his greatest strength, even though it does open up these, no one knows what he stands for attacks from the tories. but they don't seem to be getting anywhere with that. he is in west sussex _

getting anywhere with that. he is in west sussex at _ getting anywhere with that. he is in west sussex at the _ getting anywhere with that. he is in west sussex at the moment. - getting anywhere with that. he is in west sussex at the moment. we i getting anywhere with that. he is in| west sussex at the moment. we are expecting him to speak imminently. we arejust monitoring expecting him to speak imminently. we are just monitoring the podium with the word change on it. he is in west sussex, and this is an area that did relatively well in the may elections for the labour party. historically, it's more of a conservative leaning area. but when it comes to those voters who are perhaps looking for a different party and they want a change, this is an area that would tend to have voted liberal democrat. so what does sir keir starmer need to do, as we arejust watching a sir keir starmer need to do, as we are just watching a warm up sir keir starmer need to do, as we arejust watching a warm up person, what does he need to do to convince them that they should vote for labour? �* ., them that they should vote for labour? �* . _, , ,., . ,, them that they should vote for labour? �* . , . ,, ., them that they should vote for labour? . , ., ., labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance- — labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance. if _ labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance. if you _ labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance. if you look _ labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance. if you look at _ labour? again, it comes back to that reassurance. if you look at where - reassurance. if you look at where the labour vote and the liberal democrat votes are sitting, they are in different places. they are not really competing against each other in the key seats they are trying to

target. when someone is choosing directly between the labour and the conservatives, it really is about, you can trust us, we are going to take care of the public finances in a way that we haven't seen from the conservative party, certainly over the last few years and many would argue in terms of what happened with austerity and the cuts for quite some time. austerity and the cuts for quite some time-— austerity and the cuts for quite some time. ., ., ., ,, ., some time. you are talking about lookin: at some time. you are talking about looking at him — some time. you are talking about looking at him personally. - some time. you are talking about looking at him personally. this i some time. you are talking about. looking at him personally. this has turned into quite a personalised election campaign. it's very much about the party leaders.— election campaign. it's very much about the party leaders. yeah, and that's interesting _ about the party leaders. yeah, and that's interesting because - about the party leaders. yeah, and that's interesting because rishi - that's interesting because rishi sunak started his premiership with significantly higher ratings than his party, and they hoped his popularity would hold them up. actually, what has happened is the opposite. he is now one of the least

popular leaders. figs opposite. he is now one of the least popular leaders— popular leaders. as we speak, i'm auoin to popular leaders. as we speak, i'm going to interrupt _ popular leaders. as we speak, i'm going to interrupt you _ popular leaders. as we speak, i'm going to interrupt you because - popular leaders. as we speak, i'm going to interrupt you because sir| going to interrupt you because sir keir starmer is about to speak. thank you. thank you all for the warm welcome. thank you, tom. you will be a fantastic candidate and an even better member of parliament. and thank you to all of you for coming here on a monday, a bank holiday monday and it's10 o'clock in the morning, but i suppose at least there is a bit of sun and we are by the seaside. and we are of course in west sussex, a beautiful part of the world. a part i know pretty well, my sisters live in sussex and i have an uncle who lived very close to here. so it is a part of the world i know well. like

everyone, i imagine, my character is shaped by where i started in life. i grew up in a small town, noti million miles from here. it's a place called 0xted, on the surrey kent border. you should go to 0xted on your way back if you get time. if you do, what you will see is a place that, in my opinion, is about as english as it gets. a mix of victorian redbrick �*s and pebble dash semis, while all around you have got rolling hills, pastures and the beautiful chalk hills of the north downs. i love going up there. you can make easy money clearing stones for the local farmers. that was my first everjob. you could

play football until the cows came home, literally. my first football club was bowled hurst athletic fc. i was very proud of this. we shared our home pitch with the local cows, which may say something about the way i play football. but notjust the beauty or the football, also the quiet, uncomplaining resilience, the togetherness of the countryside. that is the best of british. to be honest, it'sjust that is the best of british. to be honest, it's just as well, that is the best of british. to be honest, it'sjust as well, because you need it. anyone who thinks that hardship in britain is found only in our cities, anyone who thinks there is no struggle outside of our cities, yes, even here in the south—east, let me tell you, they know nothing of the countryside. in a way, my story is testament to this. , because it wasn't easy for us. my dad was a toolmaker. he

worked in a factory all his life. my mum was a nurse. but for most of her life, she had a debilitating illness called still �*s disease. to be honest, she would have hated it being called debilitating, because she never gave up and she never complained. but her illness did shape our lives, whether that was many hours spent with her in high dependency units when i was a teenager, not quite knowing if she would pull through, or whether it wasjust would pull through, or whether it was just her incredible resilience. every time she was told she would never be able to get up and walk again, she was single—minded in her determination was that i have never seen sheer willpower like that. my mum being told she wasn't going to walk was a challenge she was going to rise to over and over again. and that shaped me. then there was the

economy, because of course, when i was growing up, this was the 1970s, and there were hard times. i know what out—of—control inflation feels like, how the rising cost of living can make you scared of the postman coming down the path. will he bring another bill we can't afford? if you're working class, you're scared of debt. my mum and dad were scared of debt. my mum and dad were scared of debt, so they would choose the bill that they wouldn't pay, and they chose the phone bill. they would have the phone cut off rather than pay the bill, because it is the easiest one to do without. 0bviously, easiest one to do without. obviously, no mobiles back then, but you could just about get by. all of that background has stayed with me. it shaped the plan i have drawn up for britain, the importance above all of economic stability, they need never to put working people through

the whirlwind of chaos, the rising taxes, rising prices, rising mortgage costs. £5,000 for every working family. that is what the tories have inflicted on britain, the price working people have paid for their chaos, and it's unforgivable. but as i reflect and look forward to this election, i believe my background has also shaped my politics in a deeper way look, this england has always been fairly far removed from westminster. politics has always been something that happens far away. and yet something more profound has changed in the last ia years of tory government. people now feel more and more of the decisions that affect their community are taken by people who not only live miles away, but

have little empathy for their challenges, a politics that is at best doing something to people, not with them. and at its worst, as we saw in horrifying detail in westminster last week, those twin injustices, horizon and infected blood scandals, is something much darker even than that. it's about respect. all to be precise, the lack of it. that is the canary in the mine of injustice. for a long time now, working people have believed opportunity of britain is stacked against them. but now we are at a dangerous new point closer to crossing a rubicon of trust notjust in politics, but in many of the institutions that are meant to serve and protect the british people, a

moment where people no longer believe their values or interests carry the respect of those in power. and when you put that alongside a government that over ia years has left living standards in this country worse than when they found them, that has torched any semblance of standards in public life, westminster parties that broke the rules, that they put in place to save lives, and rules they expected you to follow but ignored themselves, then you get a crisis in nothing less than who we are as a nation. the values that have held us together, that have driven us all through hard times towards our greatest achievements, taken to the edge by the tories. and healing these wounds is what national renewal means. politics has to be about service. britain must be a

country that respects your contribution. everyone, notjust those at the top, deserve the chance to get on. these are the ideas that i am fighting for. this is my project, a britain once more in the service of working people, country first, party second. now, i don't know if this is a new politics or whether it simply a return to something older that used to be taken for granted. but public service is the bare minimum you should expect. and you also deserve the security, the certainty, the

basic ordinary hope that britain will be better for your children. and i think that no matter what our struggles, we always had that in the 19705. struggles, we always had that in the 1970s. my parents always believed that in the end, hard work would be rewarded and britain would be better for their children, for me. that may not sound like much to some people but you can't underestimate how important it is for working class families like mine, how much it comforted my parents, particularly towards the end of their lives. it gave us a hope and a stability that we can build our lives around, and i believe it's what working people want now more than anything. they want now more than anything. they want to believe in the future. they want, when they say to their children, work hard and you can achieve anything, for that to feel

true. but after ia years of tory damage to our values, the service and security they should expect as a given, theyjust don't believe it any more. and that has consequences for all parties. look, whatever the polls say, i know there are countless people who haven't decided how they will vote in this election. they are fed up with the failure, the chaos and the division of the tories. but they still have questions about us. has labour changed enough? do i trust them with my money, our borders, our security? my my money, our borders, our security? my answer is yes, you can, because i have changed this party permanently.

and this has been my driving mission since day one. i was determined to change labour so it can serve the british people, give them a government that matches the ambition that they have for their families and their communities, and the very foundation of any good government is economic security, border security, national security. make no mistake, if the british people give us the opportunity to serve, then this is their core test. the definition of service — can you protect this country? and i haven't worked for a years on this just to stop now. this is the foundation, the bedrock that our manifesto, ourfirst is the foundation, the bedrock that our manifesto, our first steps will be built on. and then on that

foundation, with an end to the tory chaos, we can start to rebuild our country. step one, economic stability, the very foundation of growth, with tough spending rules that mean we can keep inflation, taxes and mortgage as low. i don't know about you — i am fed up of listening to the prime minister tell you that we have turned the corner. this is a form of disrespect in itself. taxes, higher than at any time since the war. chaos, hitting every working family to the tune of £5,000. and a prime minister prepared to do it all over again. he says he wants to get rid of national

insurance. that's £a6 billion that is currently used on your pension and the nhs, and he is not prepared to say how he will fund it. that means at this election, either your pension is under threat, or he is prepared to blow the economy up all over again. prepared to blow the economy up all overagain. he prepared to blow the economy up all over again. he hasn't learnt a thing. and working people need stability. they want things to improve stock they want things to move on. they want change. but they expect you to take care of the public finances as well, because if you lose control of the economy, its working people who pay the price. liz truss lost control of the economy and working people paid the price. a week after that mini—budget, i went to wolverhampton and i saw a couple. they had one

child, a three—year—old. they had made the decision that they wanted a second child. they had found a new house that they could move into for their expanded family. they had got a mortgage offer that they could afford. they were looking forward to the next step in their lives. liz truss trashed the economy. their mortgage offer went through the roof. they had to pull out of the sale, stay where they were, cancelled their house. but they also took a more profound decision. they decided that they could no longer afford to have a second child. they will live with the consequences of that for the rest of their lives. that is the price that they paid, and i'm not prepared to let a labour government ever inflict that pain on working people. ever.

that's why stability is our first step, a non—negotiable pact with working people, a symbol of a changed labour party ready to serve our country. step two, we will cut nhs waiting times. a000 extra appointments every week, paid for by tracking down on tax avoidance and non—doms. step 3, we will launch a new border security command, with new border security command, with new specialist investigators, new resources and new powers including counterterrorism powers. these vile criminals are making a fortune putting vulnerable people in boats made to order and sending them across the busiest shipping lane in the world. nobody but nobody should be making thatjourney. when i was director of public prosecutions, i worked in operations that smashed terrorist gangs across europe. i

will never accept that we can't do the same for these vile gangs. britain will secure our borders. step a, we were set up great british energy, paid for by a windfall tax on the energy giants who made record profits while your bills went through the roof. a new company owned by the taxpayer, making money for the taxpayer, harnessing the opportunity of clean british power, making us energy independent so putin can't put his boot on our throats and cutting your bills for good. step 5, we were a crackdown on anti—social behaviour. i don't want to hear another person tell me that

this is low crime and it doesn't matter. i have been hearing that all of my life. it blights communities, big and small. it always has. i know worthing very well. my uncle lived here for a long time. i walked around a few years ago with the police here, and talked to some of the people in the high street. they told me in no uncertain terms the impact of anti—social behaviour and how it was infecting them. so we will get more police on the streets in your town. 13,000 new officers and community support officers, paid for by cutting down on wasteful contracts. step 6, we will also get 6500 new teachers in the classroom, paid for by removing tax breaks on private schools, a down payment on an education system that we will

reform, with more creativity, more confidence, more resilience for all children. i was the first in my family to go to university. i know the power of education. every child should go out believing that success belongs to them, that they don't have to change who they are just to get on. that is the britain we will fight for. labour will deliver opportunity for our children. now, i'm proud of these first steps. they are a new path for our country, a plan that will turn the page, deliver stability and change. and because we have been so ruthless in making sure these policies are deliverable, fully funded, ready to

90, deliverable, fully funded, ready to go, we will also provide the certainty that working people, businesses and communities need, a clear direction. not the endless spinning around that successive tory governments have subjected us all to. the prime minister, with a new plan every week, a new strategy every month. at this rate, a new election campaign every day. i'm not joking. all this spinning round and round, it's symbolic of the chaos of the instability. you have seen that again over the past few days, the desperation of this national service policy, a sort of teenage dad's army, paid for, i kid you not, by cancelling levelling up funding and money from tax avoidance that we would use to invest in our nhs. all elections are a choice, and this is

a clear one. levelling up and the nhs with labour, or more desperate chaos with the tories. that is the choice. but ina but in a way, this desperation tells another story. but in a way, this desperation tells anotherstory. it but in a way, this desperation tells another story. it underlines how elections are about more than individual changes in policies, but about values, temperament, character. and the bigger question — whose side are you on? who do you hold in your minds whose side are you on? who do you hold in your mind's eye when you're making decisions? everything i have fought for has been shaped by my life. every change i have made to this party has been about a cause.

the answer to that question, the only answer, the working people of this country, delivering on their aspirations, earning their respect, serving their interests. applause. and i know that people are looking at this election, looking at me personally. so i make this promise. i will fight for you. i took this labour party four and a half years ago, and i changed it into the party you see today. i was criticised for some of the changes i made. change is always like that. always, people will say don't do it, you're going too fast. but wherever i saw a fog in the road at the crown prosecution service, in my work in northern ireland and especially here in the labour party, it always comes back

to this, the golden thread — country first, party second. i will fight for you. because you cannot restore trust and respect with the politics of protest. you cannot move our country forward with gimmicks and gestures. and you cannot truly serve the country if you only do what is convenient. that is why i changed the labour party. that is how we serve the british people. i see no fight in the prime minister, no appetite to do the same for his party. they will not change. seriously, whenever he is confronted by factions in his party, people who

are miles away from serving the values of the british people, he caves in every time. a party first weakness at the heart of his leadership. rwanda is the perfect example. he never believed in it. he knew it wouldn't work. he said that. he tried to stop it when he was chancellor, but he was too weak to stand up to his party. he caved in, and now he has gone through and it has cost £600 million. and now he has cost £600 million. and now he has called an election before it can be tested. weakness upon weakness. 0n be tested. weakness upon weakness. on saturday, i was in stafford, and i was with a couple. actually, we went into their kitchen to have a cup of tea. 0ne went into their kitchen to have a cup of tea. one of them was a paramedic, and her wife worked her jewellery shop. they have two children. they bought their house

where we had our cup of tea 5 years ago, and they had been on a fixed rate mortgage ever since, and they could afford it. then they have come of it and i have searched for the next best deal. and the best next deal is hundreds of pounds a month more. and they are struggling. how do you think they feel when the prime minister says we have turned a corner? how do you think they feel when they see the people who did that to their mortgages swanning around in the house of lords? because sunak was too weak to stand up because sunak was too weak to stand up to them. service isn'tjust a word, it requires action. you have to roll up your sleeves and change things for the better. i have change this labour party, dragged it back to service, and i will do the same for westminster. that is the choice at this election. service or self—interest, stability or chaos, a

labour party that has changed, or a tory party that has run away from the mainstream. the choice is yours. you can stop the chaos. you can turn the page. you canjoin with us and together, we can rebuild our country. thank you so much. thank you very much. thank you. applause. thank you very much. thank you.

this thank you.