Only Labour is on the side of the working people
3 min read
We arrive in Liverpool this year as Britain is living through a moment of profound change.
We have the fourth Conservative Prime Minister in 12 years. During those 12 years there has been abject failure to grow the economy. This astounding dereliction of duty means stagnant wages, broken public services and Britain locked out of future opportunities.
Liz Truss believes in the failed trickle down ideology of the past. But it's not worked. More of the same is not the answer. Tory failure to get a grip of the cost of living crisis and spiralling inflation is holding us back.
And it frustrates me. My dad was a toolmaker, and my mum was a nurse. We weren’t poor, but we weren't rich either, and I remember it was sometimes a struggle to pay the bills. Working hard, but still not making ends meet. It’s not fair, I get it, and we have a plan to fix it.
A Labour government would invest £28bn every year until 2030 to unlock private investment, create jobs, generate skills, and drive growth in all regions and nations. We would harness the opportunities of the future so everyone can be better off. One country has to be the world leader in future technologies like hydrogen, or electric vehicles. Why can’t that be Britain? With Labour it can be.
We will set out how we are going to deliver a fairer, greener future for Britain.
Labour stands ready to grasp the future. And we’ll do it making sure everyone benefits.
Take the energy crisis. For five months Labour called for a windfall tax on oil and gas producers, to fund help for struggling families. Week in week out the government refused to act. And then, dragged kicking and screaming, they adopted a freeze.
Families and businesses continue to face crippling bills, with people telling me that despite good jobs and steady incomes they still can’t afford the bills. Labour put forward a practical, costed plan meaning nobody would pay a penny more on their bills this winter. We would pay for it through a windfall tax on the oil and gas giants, who by their own admission, to quote oil giant BP, have “more money than they know what to do with”.
The Tories refused. Continuing to put vested interests ahead of working people.
This is the choice facing Britain today.
A government continually on the side of vested interests. Stuck in a cycle of dusty economic theories that don't reflect the modern world. Willing to heap the tax burden onto working people. Failing to deliver an economy that works for everyone.
Or, a Labour government that will put working people first. That looks at the world as it is, rolls up our sleeves and comes up with practical solutions to the challenges of today. A government with a serious plan for growth, to create the jobs of the future as we move to net-zero.
We have spent the summer setting out plans to solve the immediate crisis facing the country – now we will set out how we are going to deliver a fairer, greener future for Britain.
May’s elections showed people coming back to Labour. This week in Liverpool we will build on our successes by showing that only Labour is on the side of working people. And we are ready to govern.
Keir Starmer is Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras and Leader of the Opposition.
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