Monday, November 27, 2023
Ambitious flagship promises
With the Tories in disarray and the public finances in a mess, everybody is naturally looking to see what Labour is going to do if it wins the next election, and in particular whether the party is going to be able to deliver on its promise to pour £28bn a year into its flagship green economic policy.
According to the Independent, there are doubts even within the Labour Party itself, with one 'senior party source' suggesting that the current level of government debt is a major obstacle to delivering on the promise:
Labour’s “green prosperity plan” promised to pour the money into climate-friendly investments every year until 2030 if it wins the next election.
But it was already watered down by the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year – after she blamed that Tories for “crashing the economy”.
At the time she said she would always prioritise being economically responsible.
The plan, announced at the Labour conference two years ago, is designed to reap the benefits of a ‘net zero’ future.
Initially, Labour planned to spend £28billion a year from the moment it entered government.
Ms Reeves later amended that to say the party would “ramp up” to the figure by 2027.
Now there are major doubts at the top of party that that level of investment will ever be met, a source close to the Labour leader Keir Starmer told the BBC.
The party’s ‘rules’ for responsible management of the economy - which include a promise to get debt falling within five years - are seen as the "North Star", more important than any individual policy.
The party later denied it planned to rollback its pledge further, saying it would ramp up investmentto a “total of £28bn a year as planned” in the second half of the next Parliament.
The green promise, Labour’s biggest spending pledge, would require more than £100bn borrowing.
It has come under fire over fears that the scale of borrowing would drive up interest rates.
The proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating, but already things are shaping up to be quite a stormy general election next year, as the Tories make hay with what they will claim is Labour's financial illiteracy.
According to the Independent, there are doubts even within the Labour Party itself, with one 'senior party source' suggesting that the current level of government debt is a major obstacle to delivering on the promise:
Labour’s “green prosperity plan” promised to pour the money into climate-friendly investments every year until 2030 if it wins the next election.
But it was already watered down by the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year – after she blamed that Tories for “crashing the economy”.
At the time she said she would always prioritise being economically responsible.
The plan, announced at the Labour conference two years ago, is designed to reap the benefits of a ‘net zero’ future.
Initially, Labour planned to spend £28billion a year from the moment it entered government.
Ms Reeves later amended that to say the party would “ramp up” to the figure by 2027.
Now there are major doubts at the top of party that that level of investment will ever be met, a source close to the Labour leader Keir Starmer told the BBC.
The party’s ‘rules’ for responsible management of the economy - which include a promise to get debt falling within five years - are seen as the "North Star", more important than any individual policy.
The party later denied it planned to rollback its pledge further, saying it would ramp up investmentto a “total of £28bn a year as planned” in the second half of the next Parliament.
The green promise, Labour’s biggest spending pledge, would require more than £100bn borrowing.
It has come under fire over fears that the scale of borrowing would drive up interest rates.
The proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating, but already things are shaping up to be quite a stormy general election next year, as the Tories make hay with what they will claim is Labour's financial illiteracy.
