Foreword
Foreword by Keir Starmer
The Labour Rosette, February 2026
Keir Starmer
The Prime Minister on measures our Labour Government is taking to tackle the cost of living and the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.
“We’re delivering change that people will really start to feel the benefit of this year.”
Dear John xxxxxx,
 
At the start of the latest edition of the Labour Rosette, I wanted to thank you for everything you’re doing to support the work of our Labour Government. At the beginning of this year, I said that 2026 is the year Britain turns a corner. And together, that’s exactly what we’re doing.
 
Tackling the cost of living is, of course, the core focus of helping us turn that corner. We know that’s families’ number one priority and that’s exactly why it’s mine too.
 
From lifting over half a million children out of poverty by scrapping the two child limit, to boosting the minimum wage for millions of workers, and so much more, we’re delivering change that people will really start to feel the benefit of this year. And just last week we extended the Warm Homes Discount to the end of the decade, meaning more people will benefit from cheaper energy bills long into the future.
 
Together we’re making real progress that is changing people’s lives up and down the country. Yet we know that’s the kind of progress Nigel Farage and Reform hate – because they feed off the division and decline that has held Britain back for far too long.
 
Last week we saw Reform go further than they have before – they’ve selected Matt Goodwin as their candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election. Make no mistake, Goodwin isn’t another failed Tory joining Farage’s ranks – his toxic views would see Reform’s divisive politics dial up alarmingly if he was given the chance to become an MP.
 
This by-election is between us and Reform’s toxic politics. Please make sure you get involved to help us get our fantastic local Labour candidate, Angeliki Stogia, over the line and make sure we defeat Reform. You can find out more about how to get involved here:
 
 
In this edition of the Labour Rosette, you’ll also find out more about the progress we’re making to cut the cost of living, fix our NHS and deliver real investment in communities up and down the country. Thank you again for the work you’re doing to support our plan for national renewal.
 
Best wishes,
 
Keir Starmer
Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party
Delivering change
Driving down the cost of living
Labour has announced a £15 billion Warm Homes Plan, the biggest ever investment in home upgrades, to create jobs, slash energy costs and lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty.
This follows action we’ve already taken to drive down the cost of living: raising the minimum wage, freezing rail fares, lifting half a million children out of poverty, cutting £150 on average off energy bills and expanding the Warm Homes Discount for the rest of the decade.
And thanks to Labour’s work to stabilise the economy, there have been six interest rate cuts since the General Election, meaning families are almost £1,400 better off when taking out a typical mortgage.
A closer look at our Warm Homes Plan
  • Under the Tories, home insulation installations fell by more than 90% between 2010 and 2024, while Reform’s opposition to vital energy projects would push bills higher.
  • Labour is turning the page on Tory failure. Our Warm Homes Plan is the biggest ever investment in home upgrades to cut fuel poverty for up to one million families.
  • Support will be targeted at low-income families, alongside a universal offer, so more households can benefit from clean power upgrades to cut their energy bills.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
 
“A warm home shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a basic guarantee for every family in Britain.”

“Today’s plan marks a turning point. It will help to slash energy costs and lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty.”

“This is a Government bearing down on the cost-of-living crisis. By driving bills down for good and upgrading millions of homes, we’re giving people the security and the fair shot they need to get on in life.”
Delivering change
NHS waiting lists slashed by over 300,000
With Labour, waiting lists fell by over 86,000 in the month of November – the second biggest drop in waits in 15 years. Waiting lists are now down by more than 312,000 since Labour came into office, despite record numbers of people coming forward for treatment.
There is more to do, but together with NHS staff, Labour is fixing our health service and making it fit for the future.
What does this mean?
  • Thanks to Labour’s Elective Reform Plan and record investment and modernisation, hundreds of thousands more patients have received a faster diagnosis and quicker treatment, or the all-clear, since we took office.
  • By sending in teams of experts, we have cut waiting lists three times faster in the areas with the highest rate of unemployment – helping more people get back into work.
  • While Farage wants an insurance-based system of care – a system that checks your pockets before your pulse – Labour is defending the founding principles of the NHS so that when you fall ill, you never have to worry about the bill.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:
 
Wes Streeting
 
“For too long, patients were promised change in the NHS but saw little of it. The government is turning promises into change people can actually feel.”

“Waiting lists are down by more than 312,000 and more patients are being treated within 18 weeks. November saw the second biggest monthly drop in waiting lists in 15 years.”

“That means faster care, less anxiety for families and people back on their feet and back into work.”
Delivering change
Pride in Place: Rebuilding Neighbourhood Policing
Communities having pride in the places they call home starts with people feeling safe where they live. The Tories ran down neighbourhood policing, leaving communities without the visible, trusted local officers that help prevent crime, tackle public disorder and make communities feel safe.
That is why Labour is rebuilding neighbourhood policing as part of our bold new police reforms. Through a new National Policing Service, we will cut duplication and free up resources so that local police can focus on prevention, patrols and stronger neighbourhood engagement.
What does this mean?
  • Labour is already getting officers back into communities through recruitment and local initiatives, reversing years of decline in neighbourhood policing.
  • By March 2026, an additional 3,000 neighbourhood police will be in place across the UK as the first step towards our plan for 13,000 more officers.
  • Labour’s Safer Streets Summer initiative showed what this approach can deliver in practice, with increased patrols across nearly 650 town centres leading to over 16,000 arrests and fines.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahdmood said:
 
Shabana Mahmood
 
“Everyday crime like shoplifting, phone theft and antisocial behaviour is rising across the country.”

“Too often victims report offences and wait hours or days for a response — by then offenders and witnesses are gone.”

“I will restore neighbourhood policing and expand police patrols to catch criminals and cut crime.”
Delivering change
Protecting leaseholders and capping ground rents
Labour has published new legislation to protect leaseholders from unfair charges and cap ground rents at £250 a year – before reducing it to a peppercorn after 40 years.
Over five million leaseholders and future homeowners will benefit from stronger control, powers and protections as part of Labour’s major shake-up of the outdated leasehold system.
For too long under the Tories, leaseholders paid over the top bills for no clear service. Thanks to Labour’s groundbreaking legislation, some families will save over £4,000 over the course of their lease.
What does this mean?
  • Years of inaction and neglect from the Tories left leaseholders paying over the top bills for no clear service in return.
  • Labour’s shake-up of the leasehold system will cap ground rents at £250 a year, before changing to a peppercorn cap after 40 years.
  • New leasehold flats will also be banned, delivering on Labour's manifesto pledge to bring to an end the outdated leasehold model.
Secretary of State for Housing Steve Reed said:
 
Steve Reed
 
“If you own a flat you can be forced to pay ground rents that can become completely unaffordable.”

“We said we’d be on the side of leaseholders – which is why today we are capping ground rent – helping millions of leaseholders by saving them money and giving them control over their home.”

“The leasehold system has tainted the dream of home ownership for so many.”

“We are taking action where others have failed – strengthening home ownership and calling time on leasehold for good.”
Reform Watch
Reform's divisive Gorton and Denton candidate
Reform’s extreme and divisive candidate in Gorton and Denton, Matt Goodwin, marks a turning point for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. It demonstrates he doesn’t just want to stuff his party full of former Tories, he’s happy to drag politics right into the gutter. Goodwin has repeatedly attacked whole communities - openly questioning the Englishness of non-white people, called multiculturalism a “failure” and suggesting entire groups are “inferior”. These aren’t one-off gaffes: they’re a pattern of language that pits neighbour against neighbour and fuels fear where we should be building trust.
Even more alarming is that Goodwin has effectively accepted an endorsement from Tommy Robinson – a figure synonymous with the worst of the far right. Robinson’s backing should have been an immediate red line. Instead, Goodwin has stayed silent and refused to disown the endorsement, offering no apology and no distance from those who trade in hatred.
As Labour has made clear, Manchester deserves a local MP who delivers for local communities and brings people together, not those who court extremists and sow division. That’s why we must all come together and make sure unity trumps division – by fighting every day to ensure Angeliki Stogia is elected as the new Labour MP for Gorton and Denton.
Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of Labour Rosette – and above all, thank you for being a supporter of the Labour Party.
 
The featured achievements in today’s edition of The Rosette are Labour values in action: fairness, security and opportunity, delivered through a Labour Government getting on with the job it was elected to do.
 
From tackling the cost of living to fixing our NHS and rebuilding pride in our communities – this is the year people will begin to feel the change Labour is delivering.
 
There is more to do, and we’re determined to keep going, together, to deliver the national renewal Britain deserves. We hope you’ll stay with us, stay involved, and tune in for the next edition as we continue to turn that corner for the country.
 
Team Labour
 

The Labour Party runs on small donations. The majority of our online donations come from emails just like this one. You can donate today by clicking here.

This email was sent to [email protected]. To manage your email preferences or unsubscribe from Labour Party emails, please click here. To understand how we use your personal data: see our privacy notices.

Reproduced from an email sent by the Labour Party, promoted by Hollie Ridley on behalf of The Labour Party, both at 20 Rushworth Street, SE1 0SS.