Is Starmer’s plan for the NHS the real deal – or smoke and mirrors?

The Labour leader would have to work hard to fufil his pledges given the current state – and the future prospects – of the UK economy, writes Sean O’Grady

Sir Keir gives his speech during a visit to East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (PA)

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's latest speech on the NHS has set out ambitious performance targets and some radical ideas about the use of new technologies and reform to make the service more efficient. There was much detail in the wide-ranging address. The question in the run-up to the election, and into a prospective Labour government, is how achievable it will be.

What does Starmer want?

A lot. He says his “national mission” is to make the NHS “fit for purpose". That includes ambulances arriving within seven minutes for cardiac arrest; four-hour waiting targets being met in A&E; “planned treatment within 18 weeks”; and that GPs will have the highest satisfaction rate on record.