UK Labour leader Starmer stakes all on wealth creation with election offer
Starmer puts wealth creation at heart of manifesto
Rejects image of a 'tax and spend' party
Accuses Sunak's party of presiding over chaos
Adds more Starmer comment in paragraphs 4, 8-9, manifesto detail in paragraphs 12-13
By Elizabeth Piper and Alistair Smout
MANCHESTER, England June 13 (Reuters) - British opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer put wealth creation at the heart of his pitch to voters on Thursday, vowing to provide political and economic stability to help businesses reignite the country's paltry rate of economicgrowth.
With three weeks to go before an election that polls say he is on course to easily win, Starmer launched a blueprint for government that signalled, if elected, he would govern more in the mould of Labour's former leader Tony Blair and would break with the leftist-tradition ofhis predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
He rejected Labour's long-held image of being a "tax and spend" party - potentially alienating its left wing- and said he would focus on tackling structural problems around planning and housing to drive private investment.
With a speech peppered with the word "change", Starmer also drew a line between his party and the governing Conservatives, saying a Labour government would offer "stability over chaos ... an end to the desperate era of gestures and gimmicks, and a return to the serious business of rebuilding our country."
"We are pro-business and pro-worker. The party of wealth creation," he told an audience in Manchester, northern England, after being briefly interrupted by a heckler.
Starmer said Britain nowneeded the kind of stabilityPrime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives had failed to deliver over their14 years in power, many of them marked by political instability as the country left the European Union.
And he poked fun at the head of the right-wing Reform UK, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who hopes to challenge the Conservatives for second place in the July 4 election, and is running for parliament in the southeastern English town of Clacton.
Speaking to those who may criticise a lack of any surprise policies at the launch, Starmer said: "if you want politics as pantomime, I hear Clacton is nice this time of year".
BIG BUSINESS ROLE
Britain's economic performance since the coronavirus crisis has been the weakest among the Group of Seven major economies with the exception of Germany, which was also hit hard by the jump in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, Starmer warned voters that turning this around would take time.
After a years-long business charm offensive, his message to the party was that they cannot rely on using government funds to spur growth, and if elected, Labour would have to work with companies to raise finance.
It set out plans for a new government-owned energy company, backed by 8.3 billion pounds of capital that could invest in renewable energy.
It also said it would launch a National Wealth Fund, backed by 7.3 billion pounds over the course of the next parliament, to be invested alongside private capital.
Those policies are designed to spur growth in an economy weighed down by taxes at a 70-year high and debt levels that are equivalent to 90% of economic output. Labour has also promised strict spending rules, no return to austerity and improved public services.
It said it would increase the tax take by more than 8 billion pounds, helped by tackling tax avoidance and introducing measures targeting private schools, private equity, energy firms and individuals with non-domiciled tax status.
But Starmer said again he would not increase the country's main taxes, just days after Sunak proposed 17 billion pounds ($22 billion) of tax cuts in his manifesto.
Concerned about losing its around 20 percentage point poll lead over the Conservatives, Labour has been cautious in its approach to the election campaign. It has refused to be swayed by arguments even from within the party to be bolder with its offering, instead sticking to its core policies.
Some voters, business leaders and critics say that approach has meant that they have little clarity on the detail of what the party will offer in some of its biggest policy areas, such as its strategy to spur investment in tackling climate change.
Asked whether some voters were right to think Starmer would only really reveal his true intentions after the election, the Labour leader said: "This manifesto is a manifesto for change: a total rejection of the cynicism, of the idea that we can't do any better ... and that we cannot rebuild our country."
($1 = 0.7797 pounds)
Additional reporting by William James, Sarah Young, Paul Sandle, David Milliken, Michael Holden, Writing by Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton; Editing by Ros Russell, Hugh Lawson and Toby Chopra
Neueste News
Rechtlicher Hinweis: Die Unternehmen der XM Group bieten Dienstleistungen ausschließlich zur Ausführung an sowie Zugang zu unserer Online-Handelsplattform. Durch diese können Personen die verfügbaren Inhalte auf oder über die Internetseite betrachten und/oder nutzen. Eine Änderung oder Erweiterung dieser Regelung ist nicht vorgesehen und findet nicht statt. Der Zugang wird stets geregelt durch folgende Vorschriften: (i) Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen; (ii) Risikowarnungen und (iii) Vollständiger rechtlicher Hinweis. Die bereitgestellten Inhalte sind somit lediglich als allgemeine Informationen zu verstehen. Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Inhalte auf unserer Online-Handelsplattform keine Aufforderung und kein Angebot zum Abschluss von Transaktionen auf den Finanzmärkten darstellen. Der Handel auf Finanzmärkten birgt ein hohes Risiko für Ihr eingesetztes Kapital.
Sämtliche Materialien, die auf unserer Online-Handelsplattform veröffentlicht sind, dienen ausschließlich dem Zweck der Weiterbildung und Information. Die Materialien beinhalten keine Beratung und Empfehlung im Hinblick auf Finanzen, Anlagesteuer oder Handel und sollten nicht als eine dahingehende Beratung und Empfehlung aufgefasst werden. Zudem enthalten die Materialien keine Aufzeichnungen unserer Handelspreise sowie kein Angebot und keine Aufforderung für jegliche Transaktionen mit Finanzinstrumenten oder unverlangte Werbemaßnahmen für Sie zum Thema Finanzen. Die Materialien sollten auch nicht dahingehend aufgefasst werden.
Alle Inhalte von Dritten und die von XM bereitgestellten Inhalte sowie die auf dieser Internetseite zur Verfügung gestellten Meinungen, Nachrichten, Forschungsergebnisse, Analysen, Kurse, sonstigen Informationen oder Links zu Seiten von Dritten werden ohne Gewähr bereitgestellt. Sie sind als allgemeine Kommentare zum Marktgeschehen zu verstehen und stellen keine Anlageberatung dar. Soweit ein Inhalt als Anlageforschung aufgefasst wird, müssen Sie beachten und akzeptieren, dass der Inhalt nicht in Übereinstimmung mit gesetzlichen Bestimmungen zur Förderung der Unabhängigkeit der Anlageforschung erstellt wurde. Somit ist der Inhalt als Werbemitteilung unter Beachtung der geltenden Gesetze und Vorschriften anzusehen. Bitte stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie unseren Hinweis auf die nicht unabhängige Anlageforschung und die Risikowarnung im Hinblick auf die vorstehenden Informationen gelesen und zur Kenntnis genommen haben, die Sie hier finden.
