I got into politics late in life after a long career. That makes me impatient.
It also makes it painful to see what the Tories are doing to the country I love.
Liz Truss ’s kamikaze budget was a spending splurge of unfunded tax cuts for the richest. It was a reckless gamble with the family finances of every household.
As a result, the entire country lost.
Mortgages are through the roof, businesses face ruin, people’s hopes and ambitions have been shattered.
The Prime Minister’s humiliating, partial U-turn was necessary. But the damage has been done. The Conservatives have to go. Britain needs a fresh start.
Who knows how much more they will need to do when we finally see the state of the public finances. There are still unfunded tax cuts for the well off in the budget that will need to be reversed.
Since I set out Labour’s plans to grow our economy, the Tories have had four Chancellors. A change in personnel won’t fix things – we need a new government.
You don’t grow an economy through tax cuts for those at the top. To rebuild Britain you start with the foundations. That means sound public finances.
It’s why Rachel Reeves has set out tough rules to spend wisely and prudently.
And it’s why we will set fair taxes. No more simply demanding that working people pay more for less.
On those foundations, Labour will build the future Britain deserves. Our Green Prosperity Plan will harness what we have - hard-working people, a desire to make things, lots of wind and water energy.
We’ll create a million quality jobs – everything from pipe fitters to software engineers. We’ll insulate 19 million homes.
And we’ll create Great British Energy, a home-grown energy company, to ensure we are independent of tyrants like Putin.
That’s a vision of a future where the whole country contributes to building something better. It makes a mockery of outdated, failed Tory ideology.
I’m excited to get going. Because the quicker this shambolic government is gone, the quicker we can fix their mess.
