Labour’s plan for prosperity – better business not just big business

Labour’s plan for business is being published today. The 79-page document will be unveiled at an event at Jaguar Land Rover in Birmingham, and it’s received the backing of Peter Mandelson in a Guardian piece this morning. So what is it?

Well what it isn’t is any new policy. The document is a restatement of existing announcements, pulling together different strands of the party’s policy offer into something more solid – something which seeks to tell a story about how a Labour government would change Britain. So there will be a repeat of Labour’s pledge to increase the minimum wage to £8 an hour by 2020 (still not enough, but better than nothing), alongside tax breaks for employers who adopt the Living Wage. Devolution is in there too, as is cutting business rates and guaranteeing Britain has the most competitive rate of corporation tax in the G7.

In short, it can be summed up as ‘better business not just big business’ – or as Miliband puts it “The jobs of tomorrow will come from a large number of small businesses, not simply a small number of large ones”.

But this speech is as much about drawing a dividing line with the Tories as it is about spelling out Labour’s vision. It is intended to put the Tories on the wrong side of the argument on several key issues:

• Labour as the party of higher wages vs the Tories as the party of the race to the bottom
• Labour as the party of devolving power vs the Tories as the party of the unaccountable centre
• Labour as the party of small businesses vs the Tories as the party of the super-rich and the tax-efficient multi-nationals

Or put more simply still – Labour as the party of the hard-working little-guy fighting to get on, getting their fair share of the growth this country produces, and which they play their part in producing. Miliband will hammer home that point by arguing that “every person in every sector of the economy is a wealth creator” – rather than “wealth creator” being used simply as a by-word for “rich person”, as is currently the case.

Those close to Miliband see this speech as going to the heart of the election choice – how do we succeed as a country? Will we be left alone to face the harsh winds of globalisation and rapacious free-market capitalism, or will the state act to defend and boost the British businesses that need its help. Miliband hopes that the answer is the latter. Here’s what he’s expected to say today:

“There is a choice of two plans at this election. A failing plan under which we would carrying on as we are with a government claiming the economy is a success when it only works for a handful of people at the top. Or a new plan, a better plan, that says this economy must succeed for working families if Britain as a whole is going to succeed.

“Nothing more symbolises their failing plan than seeing tax gap – between what should be paid and the revenue received – widening while the number of apprenticeships available for young people is falling.

“We need a better plan to replace an economy where tens of billions are lost in tax avoidance with an economy where tens of thousands more of our young people are doing apprenticeships and we help more businesses grow, succeed and create wealth.

“Our plan is based on the idea that it is only when Britain’s working families succeed that Britain succeeds. Not the old idea that it is only from the top down that wealth flows. And it is only our plan that recognises that every person in every sector of the economy is a wealth creator.

“And that means we need a plan which nurtures the talents of every young person, supports every business, allows every family to share prosperity, and expects each and every one of us to contribute. 

“Here is our better plan: a modern industrial strategy for Britain’s businesses and Britain’s working families to succeed together; a plan for every sector, every firm, everybody to raise productivity, make bigger profits and create the inclusive prosperity for a new era; a route-map for turning the fortunes of working people and of our country around.”