“The pandemic demands a program that can deliver transformative change for working people.”
Andrew Scattergood, Momentum
Momentum will criticise Keir Starmer’s “reset” speech (being delivered at 11.00am Thursday) for having “no ambition, little substance”, whilst warning it leaves Labour at risk of being “outflanked by the Tories” on some spending commitments.
The speech comes after concerted criticism by figures across the Labour party over the lack of vision offered by the leadership and falling support in the polls.
Starmer ran for Labour leader on a series of ten pledges which maintained much of the left-wing policy developed under Corbyn’s leadership. But Momentum argue that there will be little evidence of this stance in the ‘reset’ speech, which proposes stimulating recovery by extending the business rate holiday and the VAT cut for hospitality and leisure.
In a statement, Momentum’s co-chair Andrew Scattergood said: “The pandemic demands a program that can deliver transformative change for working people,” adding that “We can’t win by promising to be better managers of the same system. Starmer should have announced policies like a Green New Deal based on an expansion of public ownership that would fundamentally and irreversibly alter the balance of wealth and power in Britain.”
Speaking to Labour Outlook, a Labour Assembly Against Austerity spokesperson added, “The economic crisis – and accompanying jobs crisis – is deepening by the hour. Now is the time to argue for a strong, clear and radical transformative agenda, using public ownership and investment to create decent jobs for millions.”
