Labour vow to ‘get Britain’s future back’ as conference kicks off in Liverpool

Published

1 year ago

October 7, 2023

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Labour are promising to “get Britain’s future back” as the party meets for its annual conference.

Proceedings get under way in Liverpool on Saturday with Labour’s women’s conference, before the full summit starts on Sunday.

It follows the Tory conference last week, which was beset by leaks about the scrapping of HS2 – as those hoping to succeed Rishi Sunak made a splash.

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Labour will be hoping to capitalise on its recent win in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, which deputy leader Angela Rayner called a “seismic result”.

She told Sky News: “One of the challenges we face – because the Conservatives crashed the economy and the situation we’re going to inherit – is that we won’t be able to reverse everything that the Conservatives have done over the last 13 years.

“But we’re very determined to give Britain its future back.”

Asked about her own ambitions, Ms Rayner said: “I would have an absolute honour and a privilege if I was able to be the deputy prime minister of this country.

“That’s my ambition and my ambition is to get into government, not for me, but for the people out there who deserve that change.

“The Conservatives have delivered chaos for people.

“I want people to have the opportunities that the last Labour government delivered for me, and I’m determined to make sure that we get into government to deliver that for people.”

Ms Rayner is promising a government that will “deliver the biggest boost to affordable, social and council housing for a generation” and prevent developers “wriggling out of their responsibilities”.

Housing is one of many areas that party members will be hoping to hear more details on, with some accusing the party of being light on detail with its policies, including issues such as the cancellation of HS2.

Business and the economy are other areas where Labour want to show they are ready for government.

The party is keen to show it has companies such as Gatwick Airport, Scottish Renewables, Specsavers, Ikea and McVities hosting stands for the first time – with the likes of John Lewis and Mastercard speaking to a “sold-out” business forum.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper will also announce a plan to require police to target the most dangerous abusers and sex offenders using counter-terror style tactics.

“Under Labour, the police will be asked to relentlessly pursue the perpetrators who pose the greatest risk to women, and use all the tools at their disposal to protect victims and get dangerous offenders off the streets,” she said.

“The police should be exhausting every opportunity for enforcement, prevention and protection – too often failure to do so has had devastating and fatal consequences.” 

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Meanwhile, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting renewed his pledge to “modernise or die” in an interview with The Times, promising a Labour government would funnel £171m a year into a “fit for the future” fund for purchasing new equipment to cut NHS waiting times.

He said the money would be enough to double the number of CT and MRI scanners over a parliament so that patients can get diagnosed earlier.

After Ms Rayner’s speech on Sunday, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will speak on Monday, with party leader Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday.

It’s during this speech he will “outline plans to get Britain’s future back” – a slogan he has used before.

Another policy pledge expected to be announced by Ms Rayner is the “biggest-ever transfer of power out of Westminster”, a policy touted last year at an event with former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Speaking on Friday, Ms Rayner said: “Rishi Sunak and the Tories have time and time again taken a sledgehammer to the foundations a good life can be built upon. Decent jobs, secure homes and strong communities are being snatched away from people.

“With five prime ministers in seven years and constant chaos and instability, Britain’s future has been left to take a back seat. The Tories’ legacy is national decline – a nation levelled down and starved of hope.

“While the Tories have stolen Britain’s future, it’s Labour that will give it back with our plan to make working people better off by securing growth for all people and in all places.”

Anneliese Dodds, the chair of the Labour Party, said her party had “the plans to unlock growth, make our streets safe, secure the future of the NHS, break down barriers to opportunity and make the UK a green energy superpower”.

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Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to $9.4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to .4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.

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Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.

Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.

The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.

The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.

However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.

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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.

She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.

She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.

But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.

“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.

“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”

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However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.

While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.

It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.

Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.

Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.

During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.

The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.

Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”