On the morning of Thursday, 25 January, Andrew Lewin, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Welwyn Hatfield and a small group of community leaders met Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party for a roundtable discussion on how Labour’s five missions for government will improve lives across the community.

Marking the Labour Leader’s second Missions Tour, Andrew Lewin helped bring together some leaders from across Welwyn Hatfield to meet with Keir Starmer.

At the roundtable with Starmer, Lewin set out some key local priorities, including revitalising high streets in Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City and the urgent need to reduce NHS waiting times, which are even higher locally than the national average.

Speaking after the roundtable, Andrew Lewin, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Welwyn Hatfield said:

“It was a pleasure to meet Keir Starmer, as he sets out how Labour’s mission-led approach to government can bring change to Welwyn Hatfield.

I was able to talk to Keir about some of my key priorities as a Parliamentary Candidate. Attracting businesses back to our high streets, building homes that are affordable for local people and cutting NHS waiting times.

There is no doubt that 14 years of Conservative government has done a lot of damage to the community I call home. Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, we now have a changed Labour Party ready to face the electorate. Welwyn Hatfield is ready for an election, and is ready for a Labour government.”

Addressing the attendees, Starmer reiterated Labour’s plans to deliver growth and prosperity across the area and outlined how Labour’s five missions will benefit Welwyn Hatfield:

• Higher growth and a reformed planning system no longer blocking homes, infrastructure and investment.
• Safer streets, with more police and a crack down on anti-social behaviour.
• Cheaper bills, with GB Energy, a new public company, using clean British power not foreign oil and gas.
• Breaking down barriers to opportunities for every child with free breakfast clubs for every child.
• Our NHS back on its feet, with a plan for two million more appointments every year, paid for by removing the non-dom tax status.

The meeting marks Keir Starmer’s second Missions Tour, where he dives deep into each of his five missions for government in a different part of the country. Visiting a different region of the UK every 2-3 weeks, the Labour leader will outline how his five missions for government will benefit voters. On each Tour, he will meet working people as well as businesses, community and industry leaders, as he urges voters to call time on the managed decline under the Conservatives, instead choosing a decade of national renewal with Labour.

Earlier this month, Starmer launched his Missions Tour programme in the North West, visiting Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where he unveiled his Party’s Child Health Action Plan and pledged the healthiest generation of children ever, vowing to end the scandal of plummeting child health outcomes.

Speaking after the breakfast, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“It’s clear that Andrew Lewin is preparing to hit the ground running on behalf of working people in his area. I’m grateful to Andrew for bringing together some of the key leaders in the community for me to meet and to hear first-hand why Welwyn Hatfield needs change.

“2024 is a momentous year for the country. The power of the vote is in the hands of the British people, and we will fight every day to earn it. And as the election comes closer, I’m proud to say that we have the strongest generation of candidates our Party has seen.  We’ve built a changed Labour Party ready to serve working people in Welwyn Hatfield and across the United Kingdom.

“In the coming weeks, I’ll be travelling across the country to outline Labour’s plan for a decade of national renewal, working together with local communities to improve the lives working people. Because this year can be the year of change. Britain has the power to end Tory decline and give Britain its future back with Labour.”