Shadow Chancellor will tomorrow [19 March] vow
to bring about ‘a new chapter’ in Britain’s economic history as
she outlines Labour’s plan for growth.
Delivering the annual Mais Lecture in the city of London, the
Shadow Chancellor will set out how an incoming Labour government
will deliver Britain’s economic recovery on “strong and secure
foundations” to unlock growth and spread prosperity – including
reform of the Treasury.
Reeves is expected to say:
“We have found ourselves in a moment of political turbulence and
recurrent crises with the burden falling on the shoulders of
working people.
“With at its root, a failure to deliver the supply side reform
needed to equip Britain to compete in a fast changing world.
“I suggest that the answer today is an economic approach which
recognises how our world has changed.
“Building growth on strong and secure foundations, with active
government guided by three imperatives: guaranteeing stability,
stimulating investment through partnership with business, and
reform to unlock the contribution of working people and the
untapped potential throughout our economy.”
The Shadow Chancellor will say that the Treasury must be ready to
“get to work from day one” on bringing economic growth back to
Britain. She will announce Treasury reform to hardwire economic
growth into budget and spending review processes by bolstering
the Enterprise and Growth Unit that was established under the
last Labour government. For the first time, the Unit will be
integrated into the budget and spending review processes
alongside the fiscal and spending departments of the
Treasury.
She will say:
“We need to do more to enshrine that core growth mission within
our economic architecture.
“In 1997, the last Labour government established the Enterprise
and Growth Unit within the Treasury. Squarely focused on driving
economic growth.
“It was a source of important policy ideas, including the reform
of competition law and the creation of a longer-term science
funding framework.
“However, as the Institute for Government noted last month, that
Unit is widely seen to be underpowered, its influence diminished
compared to twenty years ago. And crucially it is not involved in
the management of fiscal events.
“So, we will build on that success. Hard-wiring economic growth
into budget and spending review processes, with a reformed and
strengthened Enterprise and Growth Unit augmenting the existing
so-called ‘fiscal triangle’.
Reeves will talk about how the “lifeblood of economic growth is
business investment” and promise a new partnership with business
to create jobs, build infrastructure and spread prosperity across
the United Kingdom.
Planning reform, strengthening devolution and a new industrial
strategy will be at the centre of Labour’s plan for growth. Half
a million jobs will created across the UK through a new National
Wealth Fund that will invest in the industries of the
future.
The Shadow Chancellor will conclude by saying:
“I remain an optimist about our ability to rise to the challenges
we face. If we can bring together public and private sectors, in
a national mission – directed at restoring strong economic growth
across Britain.
“When we speak of a decade of national renewal, that is what we
mean. As we did at the end of the 1970s, we stand at an
inflection point, and as in earlier decades, the solution lies in
wide-ranging supply-side reform to drive investment, remove the
blockages constraining our productive capacity, and fashion a new
economic settlement, drawing on evolutions in economic
thought.
“A new chapter in Britain’s economic history. And unlike the
1980s, growth in the years to come must be broad-based,
inclusive, and resilient.
“Growth achieved through stability – built on the strength of our
institutions. Investment – through partnership between
active government and enterprising business. And reform – of
our planning system, our public services, our labour market, and
our democracy.
“In the face of a more unstable world, the task is not only to
recognise the acute risks but also to identify the
opportunities.
“To reject managed decline and pursue the long overdue task of
renewing our common purpose, rethinking outmoded assumptions, and
rebuilding growth on strong and secure foundations.”
Ends
Notes to editors
-
will deliver her Mais
Lecture on Tuesday 19 March in London.
- The annual Mais lecture is regarded as the City of London’s
foremost event for the banking and finance community, and is
attended by senior practitioners and academics. Since its
inception in 1978, the Mais has maintained a tradition of
prestigious speakers including Mark Carney, , , and .
