Starmer’s speech committed to false ​“black hole” narrative

Responding to the prime minister’s speech today at Labour Party Conference, Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, said:

“Starmer’s speech remained committed to a false narrative of a ​“black hole” in our public finances. You wouldn’t wait until a patient has magically recovered before you treat them — it’s just as misguided to wait until our economy is thriving before we invest in the things which make it healthy.

“Decades of underinvestment have left us educating our kids in crumbling schools, struggling to get a doctor’s appointment, and unable to find a train that runs on time. This makes it harder to care for others or do well at work, creating a drag on our economy. This new government shouldn’t be administering the same policies, hoping for different results.

“A new government has plenty of ways to raise money, from borrowing responsibly to taxing the wealthiest to scrapping stealth subsidies to banks. It’s promising to hear that this new government might be rethinking its fiscal rules — but it demonstrates how these rules are determined by political choices, not immovable laws of nature.”

ENDS

Notes

The New Economics Foundation is a charitable think tank. We are independent of political parties and committed to being transparent about how we are funded.