will today set out Labour’s
plans for ‘A New Economy’, committing the next Labour government
to “turning around the low growth” of the last decade.
Unveiling the latest chapter of his contract with the British
people, the Labour leader will pledge to create an economy built
on security, prosperity and respect for all.
Starmer is expected to say: “With Labour, Britain will once again
grow. And from the proceeds of that growth we will build a new
economy and a new Britain, one based on security, prosperity and
respect for all.”
He will contrast this with 12 years of Tory government, blaming
their “decade of faltering growth” for “tax rise after tax rise”,
and describing it as an “Old Economy approach”
The speech will be Starmer’s most detailed intervention on the
future of the British economy yet. He will set out six areas in
which policy will change to achieve long-term growth,
including:
- Reimagining the role of government as a partner to the
private sector
- Putting money back in people’s pockets
- Restoring and revitalising the places that once powered
Britain
- Ending the era of insecure employment
- Driving up productivity and wages
- Taking advantage of the opportunities of Brexit.
In each area he will expand upon his vision and his plans for how
Labour will get Britain growing again.
Starmer is expected to say: “we will build a new economy of
security, where stable employment will be the bedrock of a better
future for the next generation. We will build an economy of
prosperity, in which the places that once powered Britain
flourish again. We will build a new economy of respect, where the
contribution of every worker and employee is given its
due.”
He will speak with optimism about the advantages Britain has,
including “deep expertise and leading businesses … a skilled and
dedicated workforce … the raw components of a highly successful
economy.”
But he will also continue to develop the argument set out by
Shadow Chancellor that the Conservatives are
“now the party of high tax because they are the party of low
growth”
Pointing out that “over a decade of Tory Government, the economy
has grown far slower than when Labour was in power”, Starmer is
expected to focus on the tangible impacts of slow growth on
people and businesses across the country. He is expected to say:
“if the Tories had matched Labour’s record on growth, people
would have had higher incomes … and we could have spent £30
billion more on public services without having to raise a single
tax.”
And he will point out that, despite the small-state rhetoric
coming from the Tories recently, “the Chancellor has already
introduced 15 tax rises, increasing taxes more than any other
Chancellor in half a century”.
Speaking in Huddersfield, Starmer will declare that after 12
years of Conservative government, “the days of economic fatalism
are over.” Echoing the words of Harold Wilson – a son of the town
– he is expected to say: “Our country and our economy are
entirely different now, but we too are going through the white
heat. We face our own revolutions in technology and industry, and
it will fall to the next Labour government to shape that change
so it works for all.”
The Labour leader will also issue unequivocal backing for British
business saying that “Britain cannot rise to the great challenges
of the day without the innovation of business.” He will say: “a
political party without a clear plan for making sure businesses
are successful and growing … which doesn’t want them to do well
and make a profit … has no hope of being a successful
government.”
