Keir Starmer is echoing the language of George Osborne during the austerity years at Labour Party conference, a former Labour shadow chancellor has argued.
John McDonnell, who had the Labour whip removed after rebelling against the government on the two-child benefit cap, said if you “close you eyes” you can almost hear Osborne speaking in 2010 when listening to ministers today.
After their election victory in 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government embarked on a series of severe spending cuts and tax increases. Osborne, as chancellor, oversaw austerity measures designed to cut back the UK state and reduce the national debt.
McDonnell, who served alongside the now-PM in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet (pictured), told the BBC he was “really worried” about the direction the Labour leadership is taking on the economy.
He said: “I don’t say this lightly but if you close your eyes and you listen to the language being used, it’s almost like George Osborne speaking in 2010. When you hear politicians talk about ‘tough choices’ or ‘painful decisions’ then you hear some of the rhetoric around fraud and social security, literally that’s a replica of a speech by George Osborne made in 2010.
“I’m really worried”, he added. “I don’t believe what we are hearing this week is going to inspire people around the sort of objectives that we have as a party of changing our society.”
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Keir Starmer will use his keynote Labour conference address on Tuesday to set out his government’s plan to “build a new Britain” and argue the tough choices he plans to make will begin the country’s journey of “national renewal”.
The prime minister will reiterate that “country first, party second” is the foundation of his project in government, describing it as “a pact with working people that we must fulfil.”
The prime minister will also insist that the “short-term pain” of his government’s tough decisions will lead to long-term gain — referencing rising living standards, falling NHS waiting lists and investment in clean energy.
Speaking to Labour conference on Monday, chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed that there would be “no return” to austerity under this government.
The chancellor said: “There will be no return to austerity. Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services — and for investment and growth too. We must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions. But we won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain.
“So it will be a budget with real ambition. A budget to fix the foundations. A budget to deliver the change we promised. A budget to rebuild Britain.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
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