We’ll be hearing a lot about Labour’s five national missions as we head towards the General Election that Rishi Sunak is still running away from. It will be coming this year, it’s just a question of when he has the courage to face the music.

After 14 years of the tired Tories, there is certainly a job of national renewal that needs doing and you can bet that Labour will be the ones to be doing it.

The country is crying out for change. We’ve got to deliver cheaper energy bills, ensure more people have a chance to get affordable housing or own their own home, get our NHS back on its feet after years of neglect, and ensure better education and life opportunities for everyone.

You will have seen that knife crime has been in the news, which is up 74% since 2015.

In recent years, arrests, prosecution, and convictions have all halved, even though crime itself has risen. When I am out on the doorsteps people do tell me that they sometimes feel that when crime is committed, nothing is done, and criminals get away without punishment.

I know Watford’s police do a great job with the resources they’ve got, but like us all, they’ve been let down by a succession of Home Secretaries whirring through the revolving doors at the Home Office, eight of them since 2010, and at one point two in 44 days!

There is a better way. Labour’s plan will reverse the collapse in the proportion of crimes solved, strive to raise confidence in the police to its highest levels, cut knife crime dramatically and tackle the levels of violence, especially against women and girls.

That way lies a better future ahead.

  • Matt Turmaine is Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Watford