In 23 months Labour has dragged the UK economy to its knees
Reading our interview with billionaire John Caudwell, in which he says he was “misled” by Labour’s pitch for power, I’m reminded of just how unambiguous Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves were in the run-up to the 2024 election. They promised to be “the most pro-business government this country has ever seen.” Some of us were sceptical at the time, pointing out that hoping for growth was not the same as having a plan to deliver it.
An awful lot has happened in the 23 months since Labour’s “trust us, we’re not the Tories” campaign propelled them into Downing Street. Not everything the government’s done has been bad for our economy. Trade deals have been signed, planning reforms have been developed and infrastructure projects have been signed-off. It’s also entirely fair to note that global events beyond the control of ministers have knocked us hard, from Trump’s tariffs to the inflationary consequences of his war in Iran.
Unfortunately, we weren’t in great shape when the storms hit and the government cannot avoid responsibility for that. While it seems that Starmer will limp on beyond a two-year anniversary, his time is up and the political obituaries are being drafted. Thanks to the Mandelson files we’ve seen the despair of his own top team, from Pad MacFadden to Wes Streeting and Torsten Bell, the lack of a plan was well understood by those at the top of government even as their loyalty meant they were saying one thing in public and another in private Whatsapp chats.
Britain has ‘rarely been less friendly to growth’
No plan at all, really, beyond higher taxes, more regulation and higher spending: Labour’s instincts asserted themselves and the consequences have become painfully clear. In the words of M&S chair Archie Norman this week, Britain has “rarely in history…been less friendly to growth.” And as the boss of the CBI will tell ministers in a speech tonight, “the cost of doing business is reaching a tipping point.”
These are not mere gripes from businesses being asked to cough up a bit more in tax, they’re important and damning interventions from people who know of what they speak. The CBI now warns of the risk of a “summer of stagnation” while the Labour party spins the wheel on its own future. Meanwhile, the engine of the British economy – the private sector – has to struggle through the consequences of bad decisions made by people whose imminent successors will be hampered by the same high-tax instincts.