The prime minister also pledged to deliver growth which 'serves the interests of working people'
Trade unionists have been gathering in Brighton this week for the annual TUC Congress. This morning, the prime minister Keir Starmer addressed the Congress – becoming the first prime minister do so since 2009.
In his speech, Starmer pledged to ‘rewrite the rules of our economy’ in order to serve the interests of working people.
Starmer told the Congress: “This is not a project that we can take to achieve a good few Labour things and leave the broader economic settlement untouched. No, the crisis we’ve inherited means we must go deep into the marrow of our institutions, rewrite the rules of our economy, fix the foundations so we can build a new home.
“A country, where growth not only comes from the enterprise of working people, but where growth serves the interests of working people. Living standards rising, not just because we’re redistributing from prosperous parts of the country, but because we’re growing the economy in every community. That is our mission.
“Who is growth for? Who does it serve? The right answer, the Labour answer, the British answer must be working people – and that is the change that we stand for.”
Later in his speech, he explained the economic policies the Labour government is initiating that he said will deliver against this, including the renationalisation of the railways, the establishment of GB Energy and new workers’ rights legislation. This list of measures was met with applause from delegates.
There were, however signs that some trade union delegates were dissatisfied with Starmer’s address. Throughout his comments, Starmer reiterated the arguments that both he and the chancellor Rachel Reeves have repeatedly made – that their economic inheritance means that the government needs to restrain public spending.
At one moment, while he was making comments along these lines, one delegate shouted ‘tax the rich’ from the floor. The heckle was met with applause from some delegates at Congress.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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