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Rachel Reeves will stress the need for “hard work matched by fair reward” when she unveils plans for a “youth guarantee” to drive down unemployment.
The chancellor will make the case for a society founded on “contribution” in her speech at Labour‘s annual conference in Liverpool today.
She is expected to confirm plans for every young person who has received universal credit (UC) for 18 months without “earning or learning” to be guaranteed an offer of paid work.
Labour conference in Liverpool – follow live updates
Those who refuse to take up jobs without a “reasonable excuse” will face sanctions such as losing their benefits, it is understood.
The guarantee, which will be overseen by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, forms part of a pledge of “nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment“.
Ms Reeves is expected to say: “I believe in a Britain founded on contribution – where we do our duty for each other, and where hard work is matched by fair reward.
“I believe in a Britain based on opportunity – where ordinary kids can flourish, unhindered by their background.
“And I believe that Britain’s real wealth is found not only in the success of the fortunate few, but in the talents of all our people, in every part of our great country.”
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It comes in the wake of concerns among some Labour members that the government needs to offer voters a clearer vision of its agenda.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously avoided using buzzwords to define his politics, but thinktank Labour Together published a paper last week in which it argued the concept of contribution should be put at the heart of policymaking.
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Ms Reeves is expected to add: “We won’t leave a generation of young people to languish without prospects – denied the dignity, the security and the ladders of opportunity that good work provides.
“Just as the last Labour government, with its new deal for young people, abolished long-term youth unemployment I can commit this government to nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment.
“We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.”
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Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, accused Labour of “contradictions” within their policies.
He said: “Rachel Reeves says she wants to abolish youth unemployment – yet in her very first budget, she introduced a £25bn jobs tax that made it more expensive for businesses to hire, especially young people.
“That’s the contradiction at the heart of Labour’s plan: they talk about opportunity, but their policies kill jobs.
“Since Labour came to power, unemployment is up. Business confidence is down. And now Reeves is trying to fix a problem she created – while pointing the finger of blame, as she so often does, at everyone else.”
Andy Burnham has hit out at allies of Sir Keir Starmer for “demanding simplistic statements of loyalty”, claiming they are underestimating the “peril” Labour is in.
The mayor of Greater Manchester insisted his recent interventions have not been about “personal ambition”, but starting an “open debate” about the direction of the party ahead of potentially catastrophic local and devolved elections next year.
In the lead up to Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool this week, the so-called “King of the North” has accused Sir Keir of having no vision for the country, while setting out his own policy proposals.
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Pic: PA
It has fuelled mounting speculation he could launch a future leadership challenge against the prime minister, who in turn has compared Mr Burnham to Liz Truss.
At a fringe event on the opening day of the conference, the Northern mayor said: “I was clear in the interviews I gave last week, I wanted to launch a debate about the direction of the party and getting a plan to beat Reform UK.
“Those out there making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty are underestimating the peril the party is in.”
Two polls this week have predicted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will become the next prime minister, while a poll of Labour members found more than half of them don’t want Sir Keir to fight the next general election.
Mr Burnham later turned up to a rally about Proportional Representation (PR), in which he insisted he wanted “this government to work”.
He received a rapturous reception as he entered the room, flanked by over a dozen photographers.
Andy Bunrham flanked by media at a fringe event
Mr Burnham made light of the attention, quipping that “there’s nothing more unstoppable than an idea whose time has come”, in reference to PR.
But this was not the focus of the punchy speech that followed, in which he criticised the Labour leadership’s handling of dissent, saying a “climate of fear” was preventing MPs from having an “open debate” about the direction of the party.
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A handful of Labour MPs have been suspended over the past year for criticising the government on issues like welfare reform and the two child benefit cap, but Mr Burnham has the freedom to be outspoken as he is not a member of parliament.
He said he had been accused of “all sorts of things” in the past week but had done “nothing more than launch a debate”.
Mr Burnham drew clear dividing lines in a recent interview with The New Statesman, as he said the country should be “less in hock to the bond markets”, called for a greater focus on council housing and said public utilities should be nationalised.
It fuelled speculation of an impending leadership challenge, given Mr Burnham fought twice to run the Labour Party while he was an MP, before stepping down in 2017 to run for the metro mayor position. He has not ruled out a return to Westminster and last week claimed Labour MPs have privately asked him to stand.
Sir Keir tried to shut down the narrative by suggesting Mr Burnham’s policies would unleash the economic chaos of Ms Truss, whose fatal mini budget sent the markets into meltdown, as he dismissed the “personal ambitions of the mayor”.
However, in a direct message to “those who say that I’m speaking out purely for my own ambition”, a defiant Mr Burnham said: “I can say to you tonight I am speaking out for the thousands of councillors here at this conference who are worried about going to those doorsteps next May, speaking for the members of the Senedd who, again, are working hard to keep Wales Labour… and, of course, members of the Scottish parliament as well, who want a stronger story about Labour to go to those doorsteps.
“I’m speaking out for the millions of good people around Britain who want a more hopeful direction for the country.
“I think we can do it. I honestly believe it can be done. We can make this government work, we can find that more hopeful direction and we can win again at the next general election.”
The speech was met with a big round of applause from members, while one Labour MP told Sky News it was a “great speech”.
And while cabinet ministers have called for the party to unite behind the prime minister to fight Reform UK – there appeared to a change in tone from Wes Streeting as the first day of conference drew to a close.
The health secretary told a fringe event that the government must be “open to challenge” from within.
He said: “We’ve got to be self-confident enough as ministers to be open to challenge, and openly debate different ideas, because it makes you stronger as a government.”
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