Latest Labour policy proposals suggest break with 2019 less clean than planned

Keir Starmer will today set out Labour’s plan to “make Brexit work”. In a speech to the Centre for European Reform think tank, the Labour leader is expected to say: “There are some who say ‘we don’t need to make Brexit work, we need to reverse it’.” Starmer will stress that he “couldn’t disagree more” with this viewpoint, arguing: “You cannot move forward or grow the country or deliver change or win back the trust of those who have lost faith in politics if you’re constantly focused on the arguments of the past.” He is expected to declare that a government under his leadership would not seek to rejoin the EU, the single market or the customs union or to reinstate freedom of movement. The Labour leader will tell attendees that his plan will instead “deliver on the opportunities Britain has, sort out the poor deal Boris Johnson signed and end the Brexit divisions once and for all”.

Starmer’s Brexit speech was one of a flurry of Labour stories briefed out to journalists over the weekend. The Guardian reported on Sunday evening that the opposition party will look to create a national care service in England and has tasked the Fabian Society with considering how the service would be funded and structured. The Observer revealed that Labour has pledged to build three gigafactories for electric car battery production by 2025, which the party said would create at least 30,000 jobs. Add to this reports on Friday that Starmer will explicitly rule out granting a second Scottish independence referendum, and it’s been a busy week or so for Labour policy announcements.

This might not come as a great surprise after Starmer announced last week that the party was “starting from scratch” and that the 2019 general election manifesto had been “put to one side”. But the policies announced so far suggest that the break with 2019 is less clean than the leadership would like to make out. A national care service was promised in the 2019 manifesto, as were three new gigafactories to “ensure the UK’s automotive sector isn’t left behind by the electric revolution”. The timing of the announcements is also interesting. The ongoing fallout from the sexual misconduct allegations against Tory MP Chris Pincher meant Labour’s Jenny Chapman did not get a chance to discuss any of Labour’s newly announced policy positions on Sky News this morning, reducing the chance of them having significant cut through.

It’s also been a busy weekend for Labour parliamentary selection processes. Warrington South selected Sarah Hall as their candidate. She has served as a councillor on Warrington Borough Council since 2016, representing the ward of Bewsey and Whitecross. Derby North chose Catherine Atkinson, a barrister and chair of the Society of Labour Lawyers. Sally Jameson was selected in Doncaster Central. She is secretary of the local Constituency Labour Party and works as a prison officer, serving as a shop steward and branch chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) union.