“Labour is pro-worker and pro-business” – Angela Rayner’s speech to the CBI

Below is the full text of deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner’s speech to the Confederation of British Industry’s Future of Work Conference this afternoon.

When I first became the Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work, the question I asked myself wasn’t: what is the future of work in Britain going to be? But rather: what do we want the future of work to be? And that is what I want to talk to you about today.

As a party seeking to form the next government, we are committed to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to deliver a more prosperous and aspirational future for Britain. Our mission for sustainable growth rests on us working together to ensure business and working people thrive.

Labour has a plan for a stronger, fairer and more resilient economy. For a country that harnesses and rewards the talents and efforts of all our people. And our future of work agenda is pivotal to this. As Rachel Reeves said on Monday, securing the highest sustained growth in the G7 and making working people better off, with good jobs in every part of the country, will be the first of our national missions. And as a mission-driven government, everything we do will be about achieving this.

My plan for a future that works for working people. My plan to bring the world of work into the 21st century. My plan to improve conditions so they are fit for the modern economy is essential to this mission.

Working people want growth that they both create and share. Jobs that are well paid and secure. Communities that can stand on their own feet. Public services that are strong enough to help them succeed.

This is what I want to deliver by being unashamedly both pro-worker and pro-business. Because it is the best path to the virtuous circle of growth that enables us all to prosper. And we recognise that we cannot do it without you.

The world of work is changing. But after 13 years of the Conservatives, they have no answers and offer only more failed dogma. Inactivity is rising, but employers can’t find the staff they need. Britons are getting sicker, leading to an exodus of workers. Work is far too often insecure and low-paid, leading to in-work poverty. And that’s not it. 40 days of Liz Truss lurched our economy into freefall. On their watch, mortgage rates spiralled, pension pots plummeted, and investment dried up, leaving us with the lowest growth in the G7. We have seen months of disruption due to their inability to get around the negotiating table. Any half-decent business leader knows that you get around the table with your staff and work things out. And don’t forget the constant Tory soap opera over Brexit.

How can businesses innovate, create jobs and invest in this climate? This perfect storm is something the Conservatives once recognised. When they commissioned Matthew Taylor to review employment practices in the modern economy, he made scores of policy recommendations to harness new technologies, tackle insecure work and sluggish economic growth. Many of these were welcomed by – you – the business community, who recognised that you best succeed when work is fair.

And many of these were recommendations that Labour supports too. But now, five years later, Taylor says that the Conservatives have given up. I say that Labour is pro-worker and pro-business. Well, the Tories are neither. And that’s bad for working people, bad for business, bad for our economy and bad for our country.

Never again can the Conservative Party credibly claim to be the party of business. Never forget that the labour market pressures you face are down to their decisions. While the Tories shun business, Labour knows that you are a vital part of the puzzle to achieving strong, fair and sustainable economic growth.

We understand the hardships businesses are facing due to cost pressures and strained supply chains. We understand that you want to grow and flourish but can’t find the workers. And we understand that sky-high energy prices are putting many out of business.

I understand this too. It’s no secret that the world of Westminster was an enigma to me when I first became an MP. It’s not exactly a welcoming place to a girl from Stockport, who left school pregnant without any prospects, who was written off and told that they’d never amount to anything.

But I have always felt welcome when speaking to business leaders. Like you, I’ve grafted hard. Many business leaders learnt through apprenticeships, adult education and on the job – like I did. For this reason, I’ve always admired true enterprise, including those who start their own businesses to create opportunities for themselves and others. I want you to succeed.

Labour has listened, and we know that businesses are crying out for a government with a long-term plan for growth. And Labour’s new deal for working people is central to this plan. Modernising our labour market and ensuring security, resilience and fair pay.

As the party of working people, Labour is committed to creating jobs that provide security, treat workers fairly and pay a decent wage. And I know that you aspire to this too. Working people keep our country moving and so deserve a base level of protection that provides dignity and certainty. This is how we tackle child poverty and social injustice. We will never shy away from this central mission. We are the Labour Party – the clue is in the name.

But let me say this, having a strong labour market and strong workers’ rights is key to higher productivity, And it goes hand-in-hand with growth. My agenda on the future of work will be good for business and the economy too. The UK’s outdated labour market regulations are constricting business choices and growth. We know many businesses are rising to the challenge, offering flexible working and support to working parents. But policy and regulations aren’t keeping up.

Well, alongside our industrial strategy, spearheaded by my friend, Jonathan Reynolds, the Shadow Business Secretary, Labour’s new deal for working people will help tackle labour shortages, keep more people in work and ensure employers have the brightest and the best talent to choose from by boosting opportunity, making work more family-friendly and embracing modern, flexible workplace technologies.

To fix labour market shortages, flexibility must stretch both ways. But we also know that we need to help get more people back to work. As my other friend called Jonathan, our Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, has set out. This is why we will reform employment support and the welfare system, fix the access to work scheme and give targeted support to help get over-50s and the long-term sick back into work.

Alongside this, we will also create stronger links between Labour’s new evidence-led, points-based immigration system and our skills bodies to make sure we have the skilled workforce we need.

Britain has been plagued by anaemic productivity for the past 13 years. Labour’s new deal for working people will bring in a new age of productivity growth by improving wellbeing in the workplace.

People work to live. We want to create a world of work that is innovative and future-facing. But that is also one where everyone can thrive. This is why we will provide a greater base level of security through modernising workplace rights, put an end to discrimination and harassment at work and ensure the enforcement of workers’ rights is more effective.

We will reform outdated regulations that expose workers to chronic insecurity and low pay, whilst making sure that we can capitalise on new technologies and trends without a race to the bottom on standards.

Economic growth is slow, creating a climate of poor investment and business growth. Labour’s new deal for working people will help grow the economy, ensuring the proceeds of growth benefit us all.

With your help, the next Labour government will grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. Not the top down. We will boost incomes with a genuine living wage, fair tips and by ending the gender, disability and ethnicity pay gaps. Closing the gender pay gap, for example, will add £600m to the economy by 2025. This is important. More money in people’s pockets means they have more to spend on your products and services and that we have the income needed to fix our public services. This will spread economic resilience, helping to protect our economy from future shocks too.

We will also give businesses the flexibility they’re asking for to train their workforce and deliver growth. We’ve listened. Our plan is your plan. I take no shame in stealing all your best ideas. We will start by turning the Tories’ failed apprenticeships levy into a ‘growth and skills levy’. So it can be used on the greater range of training courses that businesses tell us they need. So adults can gain new skills and businesses can grow.

As Keir said in his address to you last year, it’s time for us all, government, business, trade unions, to get behind the idea that our country can grow in a way that serves working people.

Labour now has the plan to deliver it. I say all this recognising that many employers go above and beyond to make work fair and more secure. Last November, I hosted a roundtable with business leaders and the CBI about how they are making their workplaces more inclusive, and I was told: “Angela, when you raise the floor, it becomes a race to the top, with businesses out-doing each other to get the best talent.”

However, there are some that have found it too easy to hire workers on the cheap, leading to a race to the bottom and harming competition and innovation. Labour’s new deal for working people will create the right conditions for proper competition and growth by ensuring employers aren’t given the green light to lower standards further, but instead to compete on quality and innovation. And this is an agenda that I want to build further in partnership with you, the business community and trade unions.

Take our new policy that Anneliese Dodds and I announced yesterday, helping employers to support their female workers going through the menopause. I know that many businesses here today are taking bold steps. And so we were pleased to work closely with you on this.

But Labour also recognises that you need the right support to thrive. This is why we will: provide energy support for businesses struggling with their energy bills; abolish business rates and create a fairer system; strengthen supply chains for businesses; champion industry, working hand-in-hand with trade unions and businesses on our industrial strategy; and support start-ups and help businesses grow. We don’t just get your problems – we have a plan to tackle them.

The country is hungry for change. And under me and Keir, Labour is even hungrier to deliver it. 13 years of economic failure has left businesses and working people poorer. But our response cannot and will not be to rerun the 1980s. Labour’s plan is about investing in the places and people that have been forgotten. Not turning away from them.

Our plan for work is vital to this As well as our partnership with business. Our country has a great history, and I am determined that we will have an even greater future. We are ready to rise to the challenge.

As we did in 1945, rebuilding our country and creating the National Health Service. In 1964, releasing the white heat of technology. And in 1997, unleashing the power of “education, education, education”. The next Labour government’s blueprint for Britain means building an economy where no one is left behind. A mission for our country and our time – one which we will achieve together.