Labour needs a clearer vision, Starmer told after green U-turn
needs to be “more clear” and “nimbler” in telling voters how it would govern after abandoning its biggest spending pledge, insiders have urged Sir Keir Starmer.
The Leader of the Opposition has insisted that voters “appreciate us being straight” after he scaled back a £28 billion-ayear green investment pledge to £4.7bn of new money on top of £10bn of green schemes Labour says the government has already committed to.
But both allies and critics within the party have privately hit out at the leader – warning him not to make similar U-turns in future.
One insider said that the biggest mistake was making the specific £28bn promise rather than focusing on individual green policies. They said: “Talking about a number was totally stupid. S**t politics, s**t policy.”
A Labour candidate campaigning for a seat at the genlabour eral election said: “Sometimes Keir could be nimbler-footed about this. Putting the number on it was the error.” But they added: “We are getting credit for being honest. On the doorstep, I am not expecting this to be thrown at us.”
Business leaders sympathetic to Labour are pushing for a change to the party’s investment rules which would make it easier to spend money on projects which will boost longterm growth without breaking the Treasury’s fiscal rules.
Many within Labour have expressed concern about the lack of radical policies being offered – one source generally supportive of Sir Keir said: “Ultimately, we need to set out a more clear and coherent vision to the country. I do still worry about how well we will end up doing that.”
Another insider said: “What are they scared of? Nobody’s going to look at us in government and say, ‘You haven’t spent £28bn yet.’ Just believe in something – I’m all about winning the election but this is a bread-and- butter Labour policy, jobs and climate change in one go.” MPS have also complained about being kept in the dark about the U-turn until the public announcement was made on Thursday, after shadow ministers spent weeks insisting Labour was still committed to the £28bn policy.
Sir Keir said on Friday that he had been forced to change his promise as a result of the Conservatives’ economic policy, telling broadcasters: “Every family knows that they’ve had to adjust their plans. We’ve now had to adjust our plans. And I think the British public appreciate us being straight and saying because of the damage the Tories have done, we can’t now do everything that we wanted to do.”
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: “I’ll make no apologies for ensuring that our plan is fully costed, fully funded and deliverable within the inheritance we’re going to get. It is going to be a bleak inheritance after the damage the Conservatives have done to our economy.”
But Rishi Sunak hit back: “I think what Labour announced just demonstrates what we’ve been saying – they absolutely don’t have a plan.
"Their signature economic policy is in tatters, and when you don’t have a plan, you can’t deliver any change for the country.”
We need to set out a more clear and coherent vision