Keir Starmer ‘is pressured to desert development targets after disastrous Budget’: PM accused of ‘sidelining’ vow for UK to have quickest development in G7 as he scrambles to ‘reset’ after Labour’s torrid first 5 months
Keir Starmer has been accused of sidelining his vow for the UK to have the fastest growth in the G7 as he struggles to ‘reset’ the government.
The PM is set to make a major speech on Thursday laying out his ‘plan for change’ with key policy milestones.
They are expected to include commitments on living standards and household income. But critics have warned Sir Keir is trying to mask the fact that the promise he made on GDP growth is looking unachievable.
The Labour manifesto promised to ‘kickstart economic growth to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7’ – without giving a timeframe.
However, the US is projected to forge ahead much faster, and the huge Budget tax raid will squeeze expansion.
A Tory spokesman told the Telegraph: ‘Keir Starmer sidelining his pledge to have the fastest growth in the G7 is the direct and inevitable consequence of his disastrous Budget of broken promises.
‘Labour said they wanted a mission led government, but after five disastrous months in Government and 17 relaunches they cannot even decide what those missions are.
‘Keir Starmer said he wanted to build trust in politics but by sidelining his key election pledge he is breaching that very trust.’
Keir Starmer has been accused of sidelining his vow for the UK to have the fastest growth in the G7 as he struggles to ‘reset’ the government
The OBR expects the huge Budget tax raid to squeeze economic expansion
Growth forecasts were revised down after the Chancellor’s package was unveiled
Downing Street sources insisted the G7 growth target was still in place, and is being overlaid with goals on living standards. Household disposable income (RHDI) and GDP per capita are being considered as alternative metrics.
The PM, who will have spent five months in No10 on Thursday, has suffered a rocky start to life in Downing Street.
The speech is an attempt to get his stumbling premiership back on track following the widespread anger at Labour‘s tax plans and his ‘freebies’ row.
His first months in No10 have also seen the PM forced to sack Sue Gray as his chief of staff amid Downing Street infighting.
And Sir Keir suffered a further blow in recent days with the resignation of Louise Haigh as transport secretary when it emerged she had a criminal conviction.
The PM will use the speech to announce the markers for his ‘missions’ that No10 say will allow the public to hold Sir Keir and his team to account on their promises.
The milestones will run alongside public sector reform, Downing Street said.
This will include a focus on reforming Whitehall, spearheaded by the as-yet-unannounced new Cabinet Secretary, so it is geared towards the delivery of Labour’s missions.
The same focus will also influence decisions for next year’s spending review, it has been suggested.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the PM compared ‘focusing the machinery of government’ to ‘turning an oil tanker’ and said that ‘acceptance of managed decline’ has ‘seeped into parts of Whitehall’.
The government’s policies are also set to reduce household disposable incomes, according to the OBR
‘The British people aren’t fools. They know a ruthless focus on priorities is essential,’ he wrote.
Another of the milestones is expected to focus on early education, with the aim to raise the number of children who are ready for school, educationally and socially.
Labour’s missions, as laid out in their July election manifesto, focus on economic growth, energy security and cleaner energy, the NHS, childcare and education systems, as well as crime and criminal justice.
