Starmer Abandons Growth for ‘Living Standards’ Interventions in Next Budget – Guido Fawkes

WATCH: Starmer Abandons Growth for ‘Living Standards’ Interventions in Next Budget

In a sign of the nascent “Let Keir be Keir” direction Downing Street is taking, growth has been abandoned by the PM. A monster budget is hurtling down the track…

Speaking to broadcasters from a school in Milton Keynes today Starmer spoke on the budget:

“In the autumn, we’ll get the full forecasts and obviously set out our budget. The focus will be on living standards and we will build on what we’ve done in the first year of this government. We’ve stabilised the economy and that means interest rates have been cut now four times. And for anybody watching this on a mortgage, that makes a huge difference um on a monthly basis to how much they pay. In the first year, we’ve raised wages as well, both in the private sector plus the minimum wage, which means people have got a bit more money coming into their pocket. And so at this stage, that’ll all be set out in the budget, but the focus will very much be on living standards and making sure people feel better off.”

So stabilised is the economy that there is a brand new £41 billion “black hole” to be filled with tax rises. On that Starmer said “some of the figures that have been put out are not figures that I recognise, but the budget won’t be until later in the year.” He doesn’t have to recognise them for them to be true…

With his pitch towards “living standards” and bigging up state intervention Starmer forgot to mention the G word. Nowhere in his remarks did growth feature at all. Guido remembers when Starmer repeatedly declared: “Growth is the defining mission of my government.” He must have forgot…