Speaking at the TUC Conference, Angela Rayner will today set out
Labour’s plans to deliver for working people through the New Deal
for Working People, and a real life levelling up that works for
workers, homeowners, and communities.
As newly appointed Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Secretary, Angela Rayner will set out her approach to levelling
up, and why ‘false promises’ and ‘sound bites’ from the
Conservative Government has left the British public feeling
‘levelled down’.
Earlier this week, Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
and Strategic Lead for Labour’s New Deal for Working People,
unveiled new Labour plans to modernise regulations to protect
workers from new and modern forms of blacklisting of trade union
workers.
, Labour’s Deputy Leader
and Shadow Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Secretary, highlighting the impact Labour’s pro-business
and pro-union approach has had on her life, will say:
“As a young single mum, it was a Labour Government that levelled
the playing field for me. When I most needed it, a council house
gave me my son a secure home instead of surfing sofas. That in
turn meant I could go out and find the job that I built a life
upon. The minimum wage meant I earned more. A local authority job
gave me better skills at work, and a Sure Start centre better
skills as a parent. And joining a union changed my whole life -
and meant I could change other people’s lives too.”
Rayner will set out the real-world link between levelling
up and unionised jobs, setting out that levelling up is
all encompassing and is at the core of opportunity for the
British public:
“That kind of Levelling Up transformed my life and my prospects -
because it was done right. A house and a good, unionised job,
with decent conditions, a thriving community empowered to create
good local services and educational opportunities - these things
were my lifeline, and they are what real levelling-up mean to
me.
“They are what Levelling Up could have been and could
still be.
“But everything I relied upon to improve my life and my community
has instead been levelled down by the Tories. With
housebuilding and wages plummeting across the whole country, this
government’s version of Levelling Up is a sham - and a scam.
“The mask has slipped, and the public has seen the truth - warm
words and politically driven handouts won’t touch the sides. An
empty slogan won’t pay decent wages. False promises won’t build
secure homes. And a sound bite won’t empower communities.”
Angela Rayner will touch on the impact of economic growth
on decent livelihoods, as she sets out Labour’s approach
to our New Deal for Working people:
“Good jobs and homes are the foundations of good lives and
communities. And it’s a Labour government that will provide those
foundations and build on them, whilst also empowering communities
and local leaders to create strong, sustainable economies.
“Labour has a comprehensive plan to create good jobs across the
entire country and raise living standards for all through our New
Deal for Working People. Alongside decent work, Labour has a plan
to fix the housing crisis by building more homes, homes people
can afford to live in with priority given to local people - and
yes, that means more council houses. But the Tories are no longer
the party of home ownership, that’s Labour. A party that will be
on your side - and govern in the interests of the whole country.”
She will go on to say that the growth mission is built on pillars
of decent jobs and secure housing for families across the UK:
“Good jobs and secure homes are the foundations of thriving lives
and the foundation of a strong economy. True growth, which
benefits all people in all places of Britain is built on the
pillars of decent jobs and secure housing.
“They were the pillars I relied upon to get where I am today. But
everything I relied upon to improve my life and my community has
instead been levelled down by the Tories.”
Ends
Notes
Angela Rayner is speaking at TUC at 10:45. It is available to
watch here:http://tuc.org.uk/Congress2023/congress-live
