Rebuild factories to retake Red Wall
Labour must plan growth
LABOUR can rebuild its Red Wall by drawing up plans to revive manufacturing and boost growth, a party donor says.
Shopping channel tycoon John Mills praised leader Keir Starmer for steering Labour into a poll lead over Boris Johnson’s Tories.
But he warned voters still trust the Tories more on the economy – which could hamper attempts to win back Labour’s traditional heartlands.
Writing in the Daily Mirror, Mr Mills says: “The Labour Party is performing much better in the polls and so is Keir Starmer personally, but the party is still trailing on economic competence. If it’s going to win back those Red Wall seats that it needs to form a majority government again , it desperately needs a credible, attractive and achievable economic policy that builds trust in those communities once again.”
Mr Mills, whose new book The Elephant in the Room warns of plummeting living standards in the coming decade, said the recession triggered by the pandemic offers a chance to reignite Britain’s manufacturing industry.
He continues: “This is what the next election will be fought on; our economic future. The Labour Party has a battle to fight on the Red Wall seats and in Scotland, but its key to success will be regaining trust on the economy.
“Labour can’t win back trust in Red Wall seats without a new, credible agenda, and it must be one centred around growth, rebalancing the economy through increased manufacturing investment and exports.”