CLES reacts to the Chancellor’s speech at Labour Party Conference

Reacting to Rachel Reeves’ speech today in Liverpool, Deputy Chief Executive of CLES, Dr Tom Lloyd Goodwin said:

“The economy is fundamentally broken. You can see it in the discontent of the electorate. If we really want to improve the lives of working people and generate economic growth that benefits everyone, then we need a plan for the economy that’s rooted in reality.

“Backing ‘hero sectors’ like advanced manufacturing, defence and financial services is good for some places but not everywhere and we must avoid playing fantasy football with the economy. We also need a plan for sectors like care, retail and hospitality.

“Ultimately, who benefits from the Chancellor’s economic strategy will shape her legacy. Infrastructure upgrades and plans for social housing are welcome but we also need to address who’s delivering these things to avoid more public resource being extracted by hedge funds and shareholders”.

ENDS