We’re building an economy for the many

Labour’s economic plans are bold, transformative and affordable. We know that austerity is not an economic necessity. It’s a political choice, imposed on us by the Tories and their rich mates. Labour will rebuild our economy for the many, not the few.

Why is this needed?

Because decades of neoliberalism and the last decade of Tory-imposed austerity have left our economy in a shambles

We are all feeling the pressure of declining living standards, growing job insecurity and shrinking public services. Our entrepreneurs and managers are being held back from growing their businesses.

Because we are one of the most regionally unequal countries in Europe

London receives substantially more investment than the country’s regions every year. Addressing this inequality requires massive investments, which only the public sector can do.

Because our economy has been designed to serve the wealthy few

While working people take the brunt of austerity, the richest few have got richer.

Real wages have fallen and public services have been slashed. There are 150 billionaires in the UK and we are home to the highest number of bankers paid more than €1m a year – 3,500 – of any EU nation. This economy is increasingly working only for the few.

Because our infrastructure is crumbling

We need to update our transport systems, build high-speed rail links in the North and across Britain, green our energy system, and install fibre optic broadband across the whole country.

Because investment is lagging

Fixed capital investment (real stuff, like housing, technology, equipment) has fallen from 25% of GDP in the mid-1970s to just 17 percent today.

Because our public sector needs rebuilding

Public investment in things like health, social care and education in the UK is one of the lowest in Europe (in 2018, the UK ranked 24th out of the 32 countries in the OECD). This means long waits at short-staffed hospitals, thousands of older and disabled people at risk of losing basic services, and schools starved for basic supplies.

Because rapid and transformative action is needed to tackle the climate catastrophe

The transition to a fully decarbonised economy can only be achieved with huge investments in green jobs, industries and infrastructure that only the public sector can lead on. We need a Green Industrial Revolution.

Labour will rebuild our economy

• We know that the free market has failed to meet these challenges, and only with the large-scale public investment proposed by Labour can we create the economy we need.
• We know that another economy is possible – one that meets peoples’ needs and rebuilds communities rather than protecting billionaires’ profits.
• We know that another future is possible, with a complete transition to green energy and a massive jobs creation program. But if we fail to do this, there won’t be an economy left to protect.

Can we pay for it? Yes we can!

• The Tories’ claim that our plans are too expensive is a lie designed to protect their wealthy backers. If they can find billions to spend on bank bailouts, wars and tax cuts, we can find the money to create a green future, rebuild our infrastructure, and create decent jobs.
• Smart investment boosts growth, creates more jobs, redresses inequalities and makes our economy more resilient. It also creates savings for the government by reducing the costs of long term social and economic problems.
• Labour’s spending plans are normal by European standards: lower than France, around the same as Germany and slightly higher than the Netherlands.
• The National Transformation Fund includes £250bn over ten years for our Green Transformation Fund and £150bn over five years for the Social Transformation Fund.
• It makes sense for the government to borrow to invest in things like railways, energy, and water. Interest rates are low, the economy is lagging, and we’re creating valuable public assets for ourselves and future generations. And don’t forget the government can borrow more cheaply than the private sector.
• Borrowing is a great idea when it is for the long-term strength and resilience of our economy – with public assets, better infrastructure, and more people in skilled, decent jobs.
• The middle and working classes will gain from Labour’s program. Income taxes will only increase for those earning over £80K (the top 5% of taxpayers) who can afford to pay a bit more to finance increases in spending on services for everyone.
• Labour will crack down on the super-rich—the tax dodgers, dodgy landlords, bad bosses and big polluters who make their millions by exploiting a rigged system at the cost of the many.
• Corporation tax will be restored to higher rates and stamp duty will be extended. Extending stamp duty will prevent billionaires like hedge fund boss Crispin Odey, who made millions betting against the pound and British companies in the 2016 referendum (while donating to the Tories), from engaging in irresponsible speculative activities.
• We will reverse cuts to inheritance tax and Bank Levy, taking on billionaires like the Duke of Westminster, who inherited billions of pounds without paying a pound of inheritance tax.
• We will take on tax avoidance and close tax loopholes. Labour will target tax-avoiding billionaires like Jim Ratcliffe and giant companies like Amazon.
• We will crack down on companies like Sports Direct that make their money by paying their workers poverty wages.