The King’s Speech promised a government which would prioritise stability, hoping to take the ‘breaks off Britain’. In his first 40 days as Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer has promoted the message of national renewal. In practice, this manifests itself as a prioritisation of economic growth above all else, and we see this at the heart of Labour’s legislative agenda.
In the Labour manifesto, Starmer promised a government that would be both ‘pro-business and pro-worker’. We have already seen hints of what this might look like in the form of nascent plans for GB Energy which will be owned and built by the British people creating more jobs across devolved bodies and delivering publicly owned energy security. The National Wealth Fund is another example of growth-oriented policy, hoping to spark private sector investment in new and growing industries and provide state funding for the decarbonisation of heavy industry.
Starmer has opted to combine elements of traditional left-wing state intervention and fiscal discipline with some reforms that align more with the Tory right. If executed as planned, this mix will kickstart growth through cultivating relationships with the private sector and championing British jobs and workers in the public sector. Labour will also formally protect workers through the Employment Rights Bill, banning zero-hour contracts, removing the lower earnings limit on Statutory Sick Pay and increasing the National Minimum Wage. These are significant changes which would empower working people. However, it remains to be seen how sustainable it will be for the government to balance tensions between protecting workers and keeping growth-minded businesses satisfied who may resent the increase in obligations.
The emphasis on economic growth and national renewal is contextualised by inheriting what Labour describe as a ‘broken Britain’, left behind by the Conservatives. This narrative shaped Labour’s election campaign as Starmer informed the nation that the party has inherited the worst set of economic circumstances since the Second World War, facing the legacy of 14 years of ‘chaos and economic irresponsibility’. As a result, if things go wrong or if unpopular decisions are made, we should expect a level of blame on the opposition to punctuate Labour’s legislative agenda. For example, Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted that there will be tax rises in the autumn, however, she argued this was made necessary by the discovery of ‘£22bn black hole in public finances’ left by their predecessors. Furthermore, strike action from GPs for the first time in 60 years over a pay dispute led Health Secretary Wes Streeting to claim that the ‘NHS is broken’, blaming its decline on Conservative neglect.
Labour’s plan for a growth driven economy is at the centre of their legislative agenda, and they have the mandate to deliver. They have made a number of promises to the British people to put the country back on track. However, it won’t be plain sailing. Despite a landslide majority in the Commons, Labour walked away with a similar vote share to their performance in 2019, calling the strengths of their foundations into question. Furthermore, the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis will no doubt influence the viability of their plans. Therefore, we should expect concessions, and a healthy amount of blame.
