Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth today accused the Tories of putting Britain on “the highway to hell”, as he vowed to help over-50s back to work.
The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary claimed the Government was “writing off” hundreds of thousands of jobless older people - and pledged to help them find employment.
He feared a return to 1980s dole queues as the economy plunges into recession.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at Labour ’s conference in Liverpool, he said: “I remember queuing up at the dole office in the 80s with my dad.
“I remember the haunted look on people’s faces - men who thought they were in the prime of their lives.
“For us, unemployment can never be a price worth paying - it breeds despair, it excludes from society, it leads to hopelessness.
“Yet, at the moment, the Tories are turning their backs on a generation who are out of work but want help - just like they did in the 80s when they wrote them off.”
He believes Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng ’s mini-Budget last week - which scrapped the bankers’ bonuses cap and handed 660,000 people trousering over £150,000-a-year an average £10,000 tax cut - will fuel poverty and increase unemployment and inequality.
“I went for a run this morning listening to AC/DC - Highway to Hell. I thought, ‘That’s definitely where we’re going after Friday’s Tory Budget ’,” he confided.
Branding the Chancellor’s measures the “most divisive, unfair, unjust Tory Budget in living memory”, he fumed: “All it’s going to do is grow more poverty and grow more despair.
“It’s staggering and it reveals the true colours of this Tory Party and how right-wing they now are, that they think the answer to growing the economy - to fixing their failed 12 years of growth - is to lavish big tax cuts on the rich.
“Here in Liverpool this week, you will see the Labour Party speaking for Britain in saying we are on the side of ordinary working people.”
Labour’s “employment support provision” will specifically target the over-50s and those out of work because of long-term ill health.
Some 578,000 people on long-term sick say they would like a job, and nearly 760,000 people aged between 50 and 64 are either actively seeking work, or are inactive but are willing or would like to work.
“The only people the Job Centre interacts with are those on unemployment benefits, but you might not necessarily have been on unemployment benefits if you’re over-50,” said Mr Ashworth.
“I’m not going to turn my back on those people in their 50s like the Tories are, I’m not going to write them off - we’re going to give them support.”
He blasted the “Tory approach of threats and sanctions and cutting benefits” - and pledged “real, tailored help” for people, who should be “treated with dignity and made to feel like they have got something to contribute”.
“When I look at the welfare state today under the Tories, it neither offers a route out of poverty nor a pathway to decent, well-paying jobs,” said Mr Ashworth.
“We have a completely different approach; we are going to fundamentally reform our social security system and we’re going to do it by growing our economy sustainably - and that starts with my commitment to full and fulfilling employment for all.”
The UK employment rate is currently 75.4%, according to latest Office for National Statistics data - 1.1% lower than before the coronavirus pandemic.
There are 1.26 million vacancies.
The “economic inactivity rate” is 21.7% - 1.5 % higher than before the Covid-19 crisis.
“I want us to have the highest employment level of the G7 countries - that would mean working towards an employment target of about 80%,” said the Shadow Cabinet Minister.
“It would be a £23billion boost to the economy, it would improve the public finances by about £8bn and it would mean household incomes would increase by £830, or £2,000 for someone on the lowest income.”
Labour promises a green jobs boom in a drive for renewable energy, weaning the UK off fossil fuels.
Channelling ex-Labour PM Harold Wilson, who spoke of the “white heat of technology” at the party’s 1963 conference, Mr Ashworth said: “We need to prepare ourselves to take advantage of the green heat of future technology.
“But we’ve also got to deal with the issues in the job market now.
“The Tories talk about a jobs miracle, but it’s actually a mirage - 600,000 over-50s have left the labour market since the pandemic, employment overall is down, you’ve got tens of thousands of young people without work or training, and those being forced out of jobs because of sickness is rising at its highest rate ever.”
People out of work will be offered “specialist help with training, guidance and job search support” under Labour’s plan.
It could include advice and coaching on how to write CVs or deal with interviews.
Mr Ashworth will tell delegates on Monday: “Everyone deserves the opportunity to find well paid work.
“Yet at a time when we have record vacancies in our economy, the Tories have not only underspent on their under-performing programmes by £2bn, they have written off a generation.
“That money could be invested right now to help people back to work.
“It’s a monumental waste of talent, not to mention a cost to society.”
In July, the Government announced £22m for “new measures to tackle unemployment amongst the over-50s on benefits”.
It said: “Jobseekers over the age of 50 will have more one-to-one support at job centres to help them get into, and progress in work, boosting their earnings ahead of retirement.”
The then Employment Minister Mims Davies added: “Older workers are a huge asset to this country, and there are currently more than 400,000 over-50s in roles than before the pandemic.
“We’re increasing funding and support at every step of their journey up the career ladder, to ensure everyone gets the support they need to get into work, progress and use their experience to boost their earnings and plan for a better future."
