Jon Ashworth: Tory conference shows they have no answers on the economy, no plan for Brexit and no vision of the future

We’re one day in to Tory conference in Birmingham and, with Theresa May speaking yesterday and her Chancellor up today, a pattern is already clear: the Tories are keen to say they’re offering answers and a different way of doing things. However, you don’t have to scratch very deep in order for surface gloss to come off: things aren’t quite what they seem.

Yesterday Theresa May moved to grab the headlines with news of when she’ll be tabling Article 50, the formal mechanism to kick off Brexit. But the big questions are still unanswered: what deal does she want for Britain? How will she protect Britain’s businesses and workers? What is her attitude to single market membership? Basically what’s the Plan B? These are the big questions but neither Theresa May nor the Brexiteers on the Tory conference stage could give any answers. Tory ministers used to parrot “long term-economic plan” until blue in the face instead they now glibly tell us repeatedly they won’t “offer a running commentary”. The British worried about jobs and paying the bills deserve better.

Today, it’ll be a similar story as the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, will promise a new “pragmatic” approach to Tory economic policy.

However, calls for “pragmatism” from someone who has sat at the heart of a failing Tory Government for the last six years will be hard to swallow for many millions of ordinary working people who have been let down since 2010. Tory “pragmatism” is nothing more than empty words, designed to portray a break with the failure of the past.

This so called change of direction is set to be more about presentation than substance however. Last year the Tories won a general election on a promise to balance the books. This morning Philip Hammond confirmed that, while he may be abandoning George Osborne’s discredited surplus target, he can’t tell us what fiscal framework he is committed to. We do know however he is still committed to deep, damaging cuts to public spending.

Philip Hammond will be presenting the Autumn Statement on the November 23, where we are likely to get confirmation of downgraded growth forecasts, and downgraded productivity growth and average earnings forecasts.  Not dissimilar to the story of the last six years.

Tory economic mismanagement since 2010 has left the UK economy fundamentally ill prepared for the current economic uncertainty. In George Osborne’s last Budget in March, the Government confirmed that every major economic indicator was being revised down, last year, this year, and every year of the Parliament.

Tory failure on the economy has left working people to suffer the consequences. Wages have stagnated, savage cuts have been taken to vital public services and child and in-work poverty has soared.

We need a change of direction from the Tories, but up to now they have no proper answers on how we build a strong economy that delivers for working people. Instead today we will hear more about a so-called “reset” of economic policy without saying what that means.

We cannot afford to wait for Theresa May and Philip Hammond to make up their mind, and we cannot afford to have the entirety of their “reset” to be “pragmatism”. We need a plan to rebuild and transform the economy so no one is left behind.

That’s why Labour set out last week a radical, coherent and ambitious plan to create an economy that delivers for all. A radical plan for a National Investment Bank that would kick-start the much needed investment in our infrastructure; a coherent plan for a proper industrial strategy to rebuild and rebalance our economy; and an ambitious plan for a real Living Wage of at least £10 per hour in 2020.

Failed Tory austerity has produced a low-wage, low-investment, high-debt economy in which ordinary working people are left to pick up the bill.

The Tories offer no answers to the failure of their past, nor do they have any plans for the future.

It’s only the Labour Party that can deliver a prosperous economy that delivers for all.

Jon Ashworth is shadow Cabinet minister without portfolio.