The Labour leader is reportedly planning to include a pledge to recognize Palestine before the end of any peace process in a bid to shore up his core support on the Left, GB News reports.
The event will be seen as an attempt to appease the left of the party, which has questioned the Labour leadership’s rejection of a ceasefire in the months following the October 7 attacks.
Keir Starmer is believed to be trying to regain the trust of voters who have left the party over its response to the war in Gaza.
Speaking to the BBC during a visit in Greater London, the Labour leader said:
That needs to be part of the process, it’s very important we have a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel. It is an inalienable right of the Palestinians, it’s not in the gift of Israel, so it has to be part of the peace process.
Asked whether this will be in the manifesto, he said: “It will be.”
Labour’s manifesto, which is expected to build on six key Starmer pledges, will be signed by the shadow cabinet today. Trade union leaders will also sign the manifesto today. The final version of the manifesto will be agreed at a meeting with the unions on Friday and formally unveiled next Thursday.
The six pledges include securing economic stability, reducing NHS waiting lists, recruiting 6,500 new teachers, tackling anti-social behaviour, launching a new Borders Command and creating Great British Energy, the state-owned clean energy company.
The manifesto is also not expected to abandon the controversial two-child benefit cap, despite pressure from trade unions and left-wing parties.
The limit, introduced by former Prime Minister David Cameron a decade ago, restricts child tax credits and universal benefits to the first two children in most families.
