Senior Labour figures call for ‘life-transforming’ Sure Start policy

Gordon Brown and three former education ministers say New Labour's acclaimed early-years programme benefited millions

Veterans of the last Labour government have called on Keir Starmer to put a new Sure Start-style programme at the heart of his election manifesto after research showed its transformational impact on poor children.

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister who first announced the Sure Start initiative as Labour chancellor in 1998, was among those urging the opposition leader to prioritise the early years last night.