Deborah Mattinson column: ‘This Christmas we should remember to feel proud of what we have achieved’

I recently found myself in a meeting with, amongst others, an eminent Tory grandee. As we waited to start, we gossiped about the politics of the past few days. The Labour people in the room were very gloomy. After listening for a few minutes, the Tory raised both hands in exasperation:

“Sorry – am I missing something? I’m not a member or even a supporter of the Labour party – but hang on! We have the fastest growth in the G7, employment figures we’d have died for when I was in cabinet, trade deals no other nation has managed to pull off, and now an incredible pharmaceutical deal which may very well save the UK industry and will certainly save the NHS – and tax payers – a fortune! Why do I keep reading this was the worst budget ever? Why the handwringing? Am I missing something?”

Change is happening

I’ve thought about this moment a lot. It’s true, this Labour government has made extraordinary progress given its luckless inheritance of both a gaping economic black hole and rapid public service decline. And it’s made that progress in a very short space of time. We promised change – and change is happening; we promised national renewal: bringing noticeable differences in people’s lives, and that is happening too, with much more coming down the track. We should all be shouting this from the rooftops! Yet Labour’s default demeanour has become a defensive crouch. If we don’t own our successes, the public can hardly be blamed for not thanking us for them. Towards the end of the last Labour government, people could see the difference but because that distracted government had stopped heralding its own achievements, they assumed their positive experience was a lucky fluke. Back then we called it “I’ve been lucky syndrome”. Even with effective delivery, it’s a ticket to defeat. 

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T’is the season to be jolly, and, in that spirit, my gift to all LabourListers is a festive Labour List of what we’ve done so far. Let’s start where the Tory grandee started: the economy. In opposition, the first step we promised towards our growth mission was stability. This budget doubled our fiscal headroom and put in place a plan to reduce borrowing by more than any other G7 economies, meaning interest rates will continue to come down even further (already five times since we’ve been in government saving £1,000 on the average first mortgage). This week we hard that inflation had come down by more than expected. I know better than most how harshly Labour’s stewardship of the economy has been judged by voters historically. However, our chancellor made tough, serious choices even while she endured unprecedented criticism – often fuelled by out and out sexism. Let’s defeat those negative arguments with our own positive story.

We have also made significant headway towards that growth mission. As the Tory grandee identified, we achieved the highest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year. People have more cash in their pockets, too – wages have risen more in the past 18 months than in the first ten years of Tory government. We’ve attracted a record 320bn of investment in Britain including billions for clean energy and AI technology, both will create jobs around the country. And yes, Keir Starmer’s highly effective work abroad, rebuilding shattered relationships that had seemed irreparable and putting Britain firmly back on the international stage, has resulted in favourable trade deals with the US, the EU and India – trade deals which our predecessors talked about but conspicuously failed to deliver. They hugely enhance our growth potential.

Rescuing and reforming public services

We have also started the hard yards of investing again in our public services, especially the NHS. Only a Labour government shows this kind of commitment to our most treasured national icon. So far, we’ve cut waiting lists by 230, 000 – the biggest fall in 15 years. We pledged 2 million new appointments in our first year but delivered more than 5 million. We have 2,500 more GPs and more people are successfully booking their appointments online – in fact for the first time more are booking online than in the old school way, ending the crazy 8.00am phone queue. People are beginning to notice the difference. We also pledged to create GB Energy, designed to build clean, homegrown energy, creating jobs and enabling cheaper bills. We’ve successfully done this, and we’ve also, as we said we would, brought rail transport back into public ownership, with Great British Railways putting passengers first.

Of course, one of the areas that leaves us most vulnerable to Reform’s posturing is immigration. Yet net migration has fallen by two thirds in our first year. Asylum processing has doubled, meaning the backlog, a backlog that ballooned in the Tory years, is coming down, and there are now fewer asylum hotels than a year ago. We’ve removed 50, 000 people with no right to be here – a ten year high. We’ve developed a record-breaking crackdown on illegal working, which will be accelerated as digital ID is introduced. We’ve also started piloting a landmark returns deal with France – a game changer that our predecessors failed to achieve.

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Perhaps the most transformational change – one that symbolises this government’s moral purpose is improving the lives of children and young people. This is something Keir Starmer clearly cares about very deeply and increasingly identifies as his foundational mission – his moral purpose. Scrapping the Two Child Benefit Cap will lift half a million children out of poverty. Two thirds of parents who receive this are working in low paid jobs, sometimes working multiple jobs to try to make ends meet. 

Many more working parents will also benefit from the expansion of childcare, delivered in September, along with 300 new school-based nurseries. Free school meals have been expanded to include a further half a million children, while the introduction of breakfast clubs will serve 5 million free breakfasts a day, ensuring parents can work longer hours and no child will start the day hungry. We’re also building on the legacy of Tessa Jowell’s brilliant Sure Start with 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs opening all around the country.

A lot to celebrate, a lot to look forward to

It’s a long list, and it’s just the beginning. The next few months will see more much needed help with the cost of living: £150 off energy bills in April (£300 for the poorest households); another boost to the National Minimum and Living Wages; freezing prescription charges; and the first freeze in rail fares for 30 years. 

2026 will also herald a new era of security for 9 million renters – when our Renters Rights Act comes into effect in May. These are changes that people will see in their local communities – and those communities will feel significantly safer by March with 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers. And the introduction of 120 community diagnostic centres – near to home and open 7 days a week by April will continue to improve our NHS at a very local level, too. Meanwhile, as the excellent Pride in Place funding kicks in, people around the country will have their say, determining which local projects they want to champion.

There’s a lot to look forward to, and, while I’ll be the first to admit that not everything has gone exactly as we might have wished since that momentous day in July 2024, there’s a lot to celebrate too. And as the Tory grandee went on to observe “if you don’t blow your own trumpet nobody else will!” We have a choice here. We can lament our own shortcomings, beat ourselves up, and descend into infighting, or we can shout about our own successes, building on these and challenging our opponents from the front foot. 

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Government is hard, especially given the mess that the Tories had left behind, but next year, Labour’s plan for national renewal will turn promise to reality for millions of people. We should feel very proud. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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