Labour launches ‘Stronger Together: A Better Future for Britain’

Labour is launching a roadmap to “bring Britain together for a fairer, more secure future”. Keir Starmer and Anneliese Dodds today unveil the policy-building project ‘Stronger Together: A Better Future for Britain’. Writing exclusively for LabourList this morning, Dodds explained that the party wants to “harness that spirit of togetherness” seen during the pandemic, working with the labour movement, academics and communities to “meet the challenges and opportunities of the coming decade”.

Six themes have been identified for the roadmap: better jobs and better work; a green and digital future; safe and secure communities; public services; a future where families come first; and Britain in the world. The party said the project will champion new technologies, “show how world-class public services can create new opportunities across the country” and “take on the battle of the climate crisis”. Dodds described how the process will work with Labour’s national policy forum, and will include a series of events to hear from members. “We need to build a future that everyone in Britain can be proud of,” Starmer said. “Labour did it before: creating the NHS, introducing a national minimum wage, slashing child poverty and bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Together, we can do it again.”

Emails leaked last night reveal that the government suppressed sick pay for people isolating with Covid. Correspondence during the height of the pandemic show senior civil servants and ministers discussing an obscure mechanism within the government’s support packages that allowed employers to temporarily furlough staff staying home to prevent the spread of the virus. According to Politico, senior officials repeatedly complained that the Treasury was blocking guidance that would have explained how employers and employees could access the money. Labour’s Bridget Phillipson described the revelation as “shocking” and said it was “shameful” that Rishi Sunak “put countless people and workplaces at unnecessary risk when he had the opportunity to help”.

The Commons extended the Covid restrictions last night. 51 Conservatives voted against the government but with Labour’s support, the delay to the roadmap was backed by 460 MPs. Starmer used PMQs earlier in the day to make clear where the blame lies for the four-week setback. Condemning Boris Johnson’s “indecision” over border policy and failure to stop travel from India sooner, where the Delta variant was first identified, he argued that the Prime Minister had “squandered” the opportunity provided to him by the British people following the rules and getting vaccinated. “While the NHS was vaccinating, he was vacillating,” he told MPs. The Labour leader called for the PM to scrap the controversial amber list and demanded the government provide support to industries affected by the delayed reopening.

Dominic Cummings published a new compromising text message exchange yesterday, revealing the PM calling Matt Hancock “totally f****** hopeless”. In the latest instalment of the psychodrama involving the former political advisor and his old boss, Cummings wrote that Johnson considering “taking Hancock off and putting [Michael] Gove on”, alleged that the PM told “rambling stories and jokes” during emergency meetings, said no full lockdown was modelled until March 14th and published documents predicting 250,000 deaths in the first wave.

Also on LabourList, I spoke to the Labour candidate in the Chesham and Amersham by-election as voters in the seat head to the polls today. Natasa Pantelic talked about her clear plan for the area and drive to be a “local community champion”. “I’ve just got this fire in my belly to kind of get in there and just get these things sorted out,” she told LabourList. “That’s where I come from.” You can read the full interview here.