In Focus: Stability and Prosperity Policy Commission

Working people across the country will have been hoping this week’s Budget would take action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing Britain.  They will have been disappointed.

While George Osborne boasted about how everything was going well, in the real world hard-working people on middle and low incomes are still not feeling any recovery at all.  Wages are down £1,600 a year since David Cameron came to office and this week’s Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts confirmed that people will be worse off at the end of the Parliament than they were in 2010.

The cost-of-living crisis has exposed the fact that the link between the wealth of the country as a whole and the finances of ordinary people has been broken.  While some of these problems go back decades the current Government has exacerbated the situation – presiding over the slowest economic recovery on record and choosing to look after a privileged few at the top while squeezing everyone else.

The need to reform our economy so it works for the long-term, promotes sustainable and balanced growth, and boosts living standards has been central to the discussions of the Stability and Prosperity Policy Commission over the last year.

The Commission has been clear that this doesn’t just mean taking action to address the immediate pressures on families (though this is important), but also considering how we can support our small and medium sized businesses to grow by reforming our banking system, build the infrastructure we need to succeed in the 21st century, and take a fairer approach to deficit reduction.

Through the Your Britain website we’ve received submissions from CLPs, affiliates, members of the public and outside organisations – all with ideas about how Labour can reform our economy.  And we’ve heard from experts like Sir John Armitt on the need for long-term infrastructure planning and from Nick Tott on the role a British Investment Bank should play in supporting growth in our economy.

Our final year consultation document was published earlier this month and addresses a wide range of issues, from the need to promote long-termism in the economy, the importance of tackling tax avoidance, and how we can best reform our banking sector so it provides the funding and supports the next generation of British firms to start up, grow and create jobs.

But this is just the beginning of the conversation.  Ahead of the National Policy Forum in July we want to hear from as many people as possible on what more Labour can and should do to reform our economy and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, while balancing the books in a fairer way.  All submissions will be discussed by the Commission in advance of the NPF so do please send us your thoughts and proposed amendments via Your Britain.

The next Labour Government will face a tough inheritance and will have difficult decisions to make.  But by hearing the views of you and others right across the country we can make sure we make the right choices in order to grow and earn our way to a better future.

Margaret Beckett MP is a member of Labour’s NEC and co-convenor of the Stability and Prosperity Policy Commission