Rachel Reeves' speech to Co-op Party Conference

Addressing the Co-op Party Conference today, Rachel Reeves said:

Thank you Joe and the Co-op Party for the very kind opportunity to speak at this important time – and welcome to Leeds!

The theme of your annual conference is ‘from crisis to co-operation’.

And after 12 years of Tory government, we certainly have plenty of crises facing our country to address.

A climate crisis and energy security crisis.

An economic crisis and a cost of living crisis.

An NHS no longer experiencing just a winter crisis – but a spring, summer and autumn crisis too.

It isn’t just that the Conservatives aren’t up to the task of responding to these crises, it is that their choices have actively made everything worse.

The charge against this government is not just that they are incompetent, which they clearly are, but now a bigger question.

It is about priorities, values and who government is run for.

The Conservatives have made it clear who they are not working for.

Their trickle down economic theory is discredited and deeply divisive.

It’s not a theory of growth. It’s a political excuse to disregard the interests of the overwhelming majority. It’s the politics of ‘know your place’.

The Tories believe that the interests of ordinary working people and decent standards for the environment - whether for working hours or the cleanliness of our rivers and seas - are irrelevant to our future economy.

Truss’ government goes further and now argues that hard won rights and standards are impediments which must be weakened and even sacrificed.

That’s not Labour’s vision of Britain and we will fight it all the way.

The Tories also do not believe the tax system should be used to create new opportunities and meet our obligations for the whole country.

But instead to help the very richest in society become even richer.

They may have u-turned for now on abolishing the top rate of income tax for those earning over £150,000.

But we have seen their desire. They will come back for it in the future. And for what?

We know that tax giveaways for the very wealthiest of people and the largest corporations don’t reach the millions of people across the country who are finding life getting harder day by day.

They certainly have never reached the families living in the 26 tower blocks in my constituency of Leeds West.

We know the truth.

That growth comes from the efforts of millions of working people and thousands businesses. From the bottom up and the middle out.

We know that a smart, active government is key to ensuring a stronger economy where we can all prosper.

In creating new markets and tackling the biggest issues of the day, from climate change to inequality, working in partnership between government, community and business.

And the Conservatives are out of step with so many in the business community too.

The Head of the CBI said that corporation tax cuts wouldn’t feature in his top 30 measures to promote economic growth.

And yet the Tories pursue it. The Tory approach to the economy won’t work.

And it won’t reward the millions of people and hundreds of thousands of businesses who help create the wealth of our country every day. The Tories don’t get it.

Which is why the last Labour government had levels of economic growth that this current Tory government can only dream of.

The Conservatives are out of control and they don’t care who they drag down with them or the harm they cause.

We’ve heard confirmation from the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England on Thursday that this current economic crisis is a consequence of the Conservative’s Budget two weeks ago.

Not that these ministers will listen. They show contempt to any institution which provides any challenge, scrutiny or dose of reality.

And it is ordinary people who are paying the price for this.

The failure to publish the OBR’s assessment of our economy alongside the recent Budget was an arrogant attempt to conceal the damage the Tories have done to our economy – and to hide how reckless their measures were.

Yesterday the Chancellor received an updated forecast from the Office of Budget Responsibility.

We’ve called for these documents to be published in full, but the Tories refuse.

What is everyone to conclude? They think everyone else is stupid.

You wouldn’t buy a house from an owner who denied you sight of a structural survey.

Or buy a second hand car from someone repeatedly refusing to say whether it had passed its recent MOT or not.

Yet they expect the public and the financial markets to just accept that paying for permanent unfunded tax cuts by colossal sums of borrowing is all fine.

Nothing to worry about, nothing to see here. Instead, the Conservatives have crashed our economy with their Budget.

And now millions will not be able to afford the soaring interest rates as a result of this government’s devastating decisions.

The Conservatives didn’t produce a plan for growth – they unleashed a strategy for sleepless nights.

We’ve seen major Building Societies and banks suddenly withdraw a range of products as they see the direction the Conservatives are taking the economy.

There are 1.8 million people due to come off fixed rate mortgages by the end of 2023.

Labour’s analysis shows that the average UK homeowner, coming off a 2 year fixed rate deal onto a 6% product, will now have to pay an average of £500 more each month.

Most people simply do not have that amount of money to spare.

What does the government think they should do?

For some it will mean working even more hours and even less time with family. For many there are no more hours left in the day. No savings for the future, less to spend and enjoy at the weekend.

For others it means missing holidays and changing big life choices.

Not because of mistakes they have made, but because of mistakes this reckless Conservative government has made.

Household debt up, repossessions up and sucking huge sums out of the economy with all the negative consequences it has for businesses.

And it won’t just be those with mortgages who will pay for Tory mistakes.

Many buy to let landlords paying an even higher rate will look to their tenants to meet the shortfall with even higher rents.

This government, through its warped priorities, its refusal to listen, and historic levels of sheer incompetence, is turning a cost of living crisis into a housing crisis.

It is unacceptable, it is unsustainable and it is unforgiveable.

And Labour will do everything we can to get this devastating Tory Budget reversed.

Whilst the Conservative Party conference was marred by their division and desperate late night u-turns,

Labour used our conference to set out a positive plan for the future.

We will stabilise the economy by being responsible with public finances through our strong fiscal rules.

And on that foundation we have a Green Prosperity Plan to invest in the jobs and industries of tomorrow as we meet our climate obligations.

We know that the costs of climate inaction aren’t just devastating for our planet - but will harm our economy and increasingly destabilise our everyday lives too.

That is why Labour will work in partnership with Britain’s industries to invest in solar, in wind, in tidal, in hydrogen, and in nuclear power.

Creating good new jobs and economic opportunities, as well as pass onto our children a fairer and a greener country.

Businesses with all models of ownership should play their full role in this national endeavour.

Labour will create a National Wealth Fund so that the public has a stake and gets a return on our green investments.

So when they succeed, so does the whole country. It’s not just about ensuring good value for taxpayers, it’s the important principle that the public deserve to benefit more from our economy.

Had Thatcher’s Tories given any regard to our common interest with the profits of North Sea oil in the 1980s, like Norway did, then Britain would be a far richer country today.

We will ensure Britain is more secure in our energy generation and supply which is why Keir announced we would create GB Energy, publicly owned and working in our national interest.

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is the antidote to the Tories’ record of low growth and flat wages.

It will breathe life into many former industrialised towns and coastal communities, but our economic ambitions don’t stop there.

Let me give you another example. Since I became Shadow Chancellor I have been listening to businesses of all shapes and sizes, and working with the Co-op Party on our High Streets Commission exploring how to revive the high street.

The one priority that kept on coming up, time and time again was the need to address the unfairness of an outdated model of business rates.

This dated tax regime holds back bricks and mortar businesses at the heart of our communities.

Meanwhile it makes it easier for online retailers who have their warehouses located on cheaper areas of land.

It is not fair - nor is it sustainable - that high street businesses should pay over a third of business rates, despite making up only 15% of the overall economy.

So Labour will scrap the current model of business rates and replace it with a fairer system.

And we will ensure that the big online retailers pay their fair share through fairer taxation on multinationals and global tech giants.

We will level the playing field, and give a significant boost to many high street retailers including co-ops too.

Jonathan Reynolds will ensure we have an industrial strategy for retail in government – because this important sector in our everyday economy has been neglected for too long.

I know that co-operative retailers will want to play their full part in this work too.

And as Lisa Nandy has set out this morning, we will help ensure communities have more say over the shape of their high streets, giving real power to people over the place they call home.

Working people work hard for their money and deserve to be treated fairly, yet too often there is a double standard embedded in our tax system with loopholes and privileges to protect those with the most.

Labour is the party of tax fairness, knowing this is vital for a strong economy and for our public services.

So in government, Labour will ensure the tax system works for ordinary people in our country.

We will crack down on tax havens, on offshore trusts, and strengthen the rules in the UK which have allowed the oligarchs to hide their wealth here and launder the murky sources of it too.

Labour supports a strong global minimum corporation tax, working with international allies such as President Biden – to stop home grown businesses being undercut so badly by multinationals located for tax purposes, in tax havens.

But while ordinary people and businesses contribute to our economy and support our public services – there is another group who have been allowed to opt out of their tax obligations for a fee: Non doms.

Labour believes that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your taxes here.

And that is why as Chancellor in the next Labour government, I will abolish non dom status.

It’s unjustified, it’s unfair and as research from Warwick University shows, it costs our public finances £3 billion a year.

Labour will use the taxes from non doms to fund the expansion of our NHS workforce and Breakfast Clubs for children at school, as announced at our party conference.

It’s about fairness, about priorities and it is about whose side you are on.

We will be challenging the Conservatives to do what is right for taxpayers and end this outrageous, arcane loophole exploited by the super-rich.

Let them defend the indefensible.

Our vision is of a stronger, greener economy and a fairer society.

We will deal with the crises our country faces firmly in the collective interest.

Now is the time for new ideas and solutions to emerge, in the interests of the many.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then it is the father of co-operation too.

The co-operative movement emerged at a time of economic hardship and crisis for ordinary people.

It was in 1847, here in Leeds amidst economic depression and high costs of corn, that local people formed a co-operative.

It would take over Britannia Mill and then build a People’s Mill which lowered flour prices for people across the city.

Within 15 years the Leeds Co-operative Flour and Provision Society became the biggest co-operative in the country.

Lancashire may have had the first, but Yorkshire had the biggest!

175 years later, co-operatives are playing an important role to our national economy, contributing £40bn every year.

From retail and finance, to homecare, to supporting cultural industries.

As research from Co-operatives UK has shown, 81% of UK co-operatives are in our ‘everyday economy’ sector and that increases to 97% of all jobs in the UK co-operative sector.

They are a great source of resilience too and were five times less likely to cease trading in 2021 than other businesses – with the gender pay gap narrower too.

Co-operatives are a great example of how businesses can work for the benefit of both the company, workers and the community.

That is why the Labour Party and the Co-op Party has agreed an important ambition for government.

Our aim is to double the size of the co-operative sector in the UK.

It won’t be easy, it won’t happen overnight, but it is an important goal.

The Co-op Party and Labour Party, will work together to ensure that co-operatives can reach their full potential in our country, removing barriers as we stand up to challenges and embracing opportunities in new ways.

The choice is increasingly stark. It’s of two different visions of the economy and society.

Failed trickle down with the Tories or a stronger and fairer economy with Labour.

A government that pursues division or one that realises our shared ambitions.

The Tories have lost control of the economy.

They’ve lost economic credibility.

They’re a dying government.

And now we need a Labour government, led by Keir Starmer

And supported by millions of people in all walks of life, to create the stronger, greener and fairer economy the people of Britain deserve.