Starmer: Brit bonds can aid our recovery
MILLIONS of savers should be given a chance to invest in the country’s future through British Recovery Bonds, says Sir Keir Starmer.
And the Labour leader has pledged to lead a ‘moral crusade’ to address inequalities and injustices exposed by the coronavirus crisis.
After the Bank of England said the ‘vast majority of savings built up during the pandemic won’t be spent’, he suggested a savings account with the government at a competitive interest rate – like previous National Savings and Investments bonds.
He said: ‘This could raise billions to invest in local communities, jobs and businesses... It would also provide security for savers and give millions of people a proper stake in Britain’s future.’
Sir Keir used the virtual address in London to propose startup loans for 100,000 new small firms. And in a nod to late Labour former prime minister Sir Harold Wilson, who said the party was ‘a moral crusade or it is nothing’, he said: ‘Our moral crusade now is to address the inequalities and injustices this crisis has so brutally exposed.’
Sir Keir pledged a Labour government would retain the £20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit and end the pay freeze for key workers. He said his party would give local authorities funding to prevent huge council tax rises, and vowed to extend business rate relief and the VAT cut for hospitality and leisure. But Conservative party co-chair Amanda Milling responded: ‘All Labour has to offer is others’ ideas, empty rhetoric and calling for things the government is already doing.’