One key message has been at the heart of Labour’s campaign in recent weeks: if it wins the July 4th general election, it will be a force for stability after years of political turmoil.
Chancellor Keir Starmer’s economic pledge is aimed at being reassuring and cautious, promising no major increases in public spending, no major tax hikes and abiding by current fiscal rules on debt.
It’s a proposal informed not just by economic thinking, but by a political strategy to escape the party’s reputation for being reckless when it comes to the country’s finances.
But this plan is fraught with risks: as The Guardian correspondent Heather Stewart explained to Michael Safi, voters want not just stability but a government that will fix the economy, invest and repair crumbling public services.
If the party takes power on July 5, won’t it already be painting itself into a corner – and how can it reconcile a public hungry for change with an economic plan that promises much the same thing?
Photo: Stephane Rousseau/PA Wire
