The leader of the UK’s political opposition promised his party would avoid large government spending increases to ensure economic stability.
In an article in the Observer newspaper, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wrote that he would avoid large unfunded spending increases if elected. Instead his government would focus on regulatory changes, including reform to the planning system to increase housebuilding.
“If we are to turn things around, then economic stability must come first,” he wrote in the article published Sunday. “That will mean making tough choices, and having iron-clad fiscal rules.”
Starmer’s letter comes as the UK deals with the fallout of rising interest rates, which are already putting pressure on house prices. The opposition has sought to link them to the expansionary mini-budget passed by short-lived Prime Minister Liz Truss, which caused mortgage rates to spike.
Since then the Bank of England has continued to rapidly tighten monetary policy in an attempt to curb some of the most persistent inflation in the G-7. That’s made economic management once of the central issues for the UK ahead of its next general election, which will likely be held next year.
“The Tories’ destruction of the economy and our public services has made the job ahead of us even harder,” Starmer wrote, referring to the ruling Conservative Party. “But it has also made us steelier in our resolve to deliver the brighter future that Britain deserves.”
