Labour’s Rachel Reeves backtracks on £28bn green prosperity scheme
The Labour Party has watered down its flagship £28bn green prosperity plan, blaming rising interest rates and the “damage” the Conservatives have done to the economy.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said “economic stability, financial stability, always has to come first”.
The party had pledged to invest £28bn per year to accelerate the shift towards net zero emissions by 2050, but Ms Reeves said the economic situation had changed since she first made the promise.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Reeves said: “The Tories have crashed our economy, and as a result interest rates have gone up 12 times, inflation is now at 8.7% and I’ve always said our fiscal rules are non-negotiable.
“Economic stability, financial stability, always has to come first and it will do with Labour.
“That’s why it’s important to ramp up and phase up our plans to get to the investment we need to secure these jobs so that it is also consistent with those fiscal rules to get debt down as a share of GDP and to balance day-to-day spending.”
Former Tory chairman lashes out at civil servant ‘blob’ – politics latest
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rishi Sunak promised he’ll take responsibility if inflation in the UK has not halved by the end of 2023, saying:
Ms Reeves clarified that the £28bn figure previously aimed for by Labour would be a target to work towards rather than a figure allocated for the plan in the first year of government, as it was originally stated.
However, she denied accusations of a U-turn, saying the figure for spending would not be “zero”.
Asked if Labour could end up not borrowing at all in its first year of government for the plan, she said the party was “more ambitious than that” – but refused to give a rough number.
“Who knows what more damage the Conservatives are going to do to our economy,” Ms Reeves said.
“We haven’t had the final set of numbers by the government so we’re not going to give our final set of numbers.”
And pressed on why she made the pledge in the first place, the shadow chancellor said: “The truth is I didn’t foresee what the Conservatives would do to our economy – maybe that was foolish of me.”
Read more:
Starmer to woo union support for green energy plans
Labour vows to lower monthly student loan repayments
The move comes following reports in The Times that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was under pressure to ditch the plan as the party also faced criticism for a proposal to ban new oil and gas developments in the North Sea and for taking donations of Dale Vince, a key backer of campaign group Just Stop Oil.
Ms Reeves sought to quell speculation of a rift with shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband, whom she said was on the “same page”.
“Keir, Ed and me are all on the same page on this,” she said.
“We know that unless we have this green prosperity plan those jobs and investments will go elsewhere, but that everything we do must rest on these pillars of economic responsibility and fiscal responsibility.”
Mr Miliband tweeted: “Some people don’t want Britain to borrow to invest in the green economy. They want us to back down.
“But Keir, Rachel and I will never let that happen. Britain needs this £28bn a year plan and that is what we are committed to.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the change was “superficial” and “still adds around £100billion to our national debt – meaning higher mortgages for families and higher debt interest bills for taxpayers”.
“A responsible approach should tackle inflation, not fuel it,” he added.
Conservative Party Chair Greg Hands said Sir Keir’s economic policy lay “in tatters – after even he and Rachel Reeves realised it would lead to disaster”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the move was the “latest in a long line of broken promises from the pro-Brexit Labour Party – and one that could have very real and damaging consequences for Scotland’s green energy potential”.
“The best way to secure economic growth is to properly invest in the renewables gold rush and rejoin the EU – the Labour Party has now turned its back on both and it will be ordinary families who pay the price as the UK economy falls behind and the cost of living soars,” he said.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
Pope Francis honoured by Joe Biden
Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway