Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves tonight declares she is more optimistic than ever about the chances of Labour returning to power.
Nearly 12 years after she became an MP, the frontbencher believes the party could be on the cusp of reclaiming the keys to Downing Street.
As part of her plan to take over the Treasury after ousting the “high tax” Tories at the next election, she tomorrow outlines a five-point plan for boosting growth and creating a stronger economy.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror before her major speech in Bury, Gtr Manchester, she vowed to fire-up economic growth to boost public schools and hospitals.
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At the heart of the blueprint is reviving Britain’s industrial heritage - starting in the North where Labour desperately needs to win back “Red Wall” seats to return to office.
Citing technologies which will help meet the UK”s net-zero by 2050 pledge, Ms Reeves promised to “invest in these new industries of the future that can create those good jobs and re-industrialise some of those parts of Britain - former industrial areas, coastal communities”.
She wants the UK at the forefront of manufacturing, competing against rival nations to build wind turbines, electric cars and exploit carbon capture and storage.
“In the Industrial Revolution we led the world and there's a risk today that other countries are going to steal a march on us, and I’m determined not to let that happen,” she said.
“We can’t afford to lose that race.”
Creating more and better jobs would boost growth and bolster tax revenues - giving ministers cash to pump into public services.
Before the coronavirus bombshell, UK growth had dwindled to 1.7% in 2016 and 2017, 1.3% in 2018 and 1.4% in 2019.
While experts believe this year’s rate will be 7.3% as the country bounces back from Covid-19, the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts growth of 1.7% in 2023, 1.6% the following year and 1.7% in 2025.
“The reason this matters is because we’ve got a cost-of-living crisis and we’ve also got public services - schools and hospitals - that have been starved of cash for the last decade or so,” said former Bank of England economist Ms Reeves, 42.
“But without an economy that’s growing, it’s impossible to improve public services and improve people’s living standards.”
The Tories are breaking two manifesto pledges by suspending the pensions triple lock and are raising national insurance.
Other financial blows due to hit in April include council tax hikes and the freeze in the income tax personal allowance.
The tax burden is set to hit 36.2% - the highest level since the early 1950s when the country was still recovering from the Second World War.
“The Government has ended up being a high tax party because they have become a low growth party,” warned Ms Reeves.
“That is resulting in people being even worse off than they would be with the increase in gas and electricity prices.”
Optimism
It has been more than a decade since she entered Parliament, but Rachel Reeves finally believes Labour could be marching back into office.
She became an MP in May 2010 as Labour was turfed out of power after 13 years, and has been in opposition all her time in the Commons.
The Shadow Chancellor said: “For the first time maybe I am beginning to hope that this opposition malarkey might come to an end and (I) might actually see government.
“I didn't come into politics just to oppose and to argue against and make a speech here and there.
“I came into politics to make a difference.”
She added: “I was born in 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister - I didn’t see a Labour government until three months after my 18th birthday.
“My children were born in 2013 and 2015 - I don’t want them to go through their whole time in school under Conservative governments.”
Partygate
Partygate has stripped support from Boris Johnson and turned voters away from the Tories, according to polls.
But how much of the boost to Labour’s ratings is down to policies shaped by the Shadow Cabinet?
“People think about the sacrifices they have made and yet they were partying it up at No10, so no doubt that is having a big impact on how people say they are going to vote,” said Rachel Reeves.
“But if you look at the polls it’s not just that the Tory vote share is going down, the Labour vote share is going up.
“That is really encouraging because that is more than just Conservatives doing badly.”
She added: “Because we are a bit ahead in the polls now, people are interested to hear what we’ve got to say.
“It’s really important that now we have this opportunity, that we speak to the country about the difference we would make.”
Red Wall
Thursday's speech takes place in Bury - 223 miles from Westminster.
Symbolically, the Greater Manchester market town’s two constituencies were lost by Labour to the Tories at the 2019 election as the Conservatives demolished the “Red Wall”.
Rachel Reeves will be introduced by Greater Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham, dubbed the King of the North.
The Leeds West MP said: “As a northern MP, you get frustrated when politicians are at the podium in London all the time.
“I think it’s really good to be taking Labour’s message around the country.
“There are seats in Gtr Manchester, including two in Bury, that Labour need to win back if we are to form the next government.
“There is no route to Downing Street for my leader Keir (Starmer) that doesn’t go through Bury, and in my neck of the woods places like Keighley, Wakefield, Colne Valley and Calder Valley, then over to the east like Grimsby.
“We have got to win back support in these parts of the country.”
Buy British
Buying British products for bumper government deals rather than importing from abroad is key to reviving Britain’s industrial sector, Rachel Reeves believes.
She blasted the Tories for purchasing foreign steel, defence equipment and other vital goods instead of backing UK manufacturers.
“We should be looking at, ‘Are those contracts delivering good jobs and apprenticeships and skills in this country?’ - and if they’re not, why not?” she said, promising a “real step change” if Labour was in power.
“The Government is the biggest buyer of goods and services in our economy and too often those contracts are going overseas and not creating value in this country,” said the frontbencher.
“If you want to support things like our steel industry for example, we need to ensure we are using procurement to help buy, make and sell more in Britain.”
Cut VAT on energy
Labour wants the Government to ease the looming energy price hike for families by slashing the 5% VAT on dual-fuel bills.
The Mirror-backed demand would help households when they are slapped with average bills expected to be up to £2,000 when the price cap is lifted in April.
The Shadow Chancellor said: “We should be insulating our homes properly so that brings down people’s bills permanently.
“We’ve got to regulate the market properly, we’ve got to invest in renewables.
“But there’s also something you can do right now, and that is take VAT off people’s gas and electricity bills, and it’s expanding the Warm Homes Discount so pensioners and families who need the most support get a bit more as well.
“We would pay for that by a windfall tax on the North Sea oil and gas companies who are making a fortune right now.”
Five points for growth
The Shadow Chancellor will outline five points to boost growth:
Industrial Strategy - “The PM said ‘eff business’ - I thought at the time that was just a quip; it turns out to be the organising principle of this Government.”
Skills - “Every child should have the chance to go to a good or outstanding school. But there are many families who don’t have that option for their kids.”
Investment - “We would put in the investment we need … in hydrogen, in carbon capture and storage, in electric vehicles.”
Innovation - “Supporting the entrepreneurs and innovators - we want to create jobs and businesses in all parts of the country.”
Britain in the world - “I want to buy, make and sell more in Britain. We should be using all the tools at government disposal to support British businesses and jobs in this country.”