The budget is a month away. Here, in condensed form, is the speech the chancellor should give:
Mr Speaker, this budget begins from the principle that a Labour government will balance the economy, not just the books. The truth is that when demand falters and investment dries up, the government must step in: to keep people in work, rebuild living standards and lay the foundations for future growth.
Fiscal responsibility matters. But responsibility does not mean retreat. When speculation outpaces production and wealth grows without work, fairness must be restored. That’s why we’ll levy a modest charge on financial trades that enrich the few but not the many.
Only Labour can repair the damage caused by the Tories. Our mission is to renew the nation – engaging with the EU, not rejoining it. Public investment is not a drain on the present but a foundation for the future – paying back in stronger communities, greater self-reliance and higher productivity. So today we launch a national reconstruction plan, investing 1% of GDP each year in sustainable energy, green transport and advanced manufacturing – the industries that will power Britain’s recovery.
This will be delivered within our new public balance‑sheet rule: net public worth (the value of our assets minus our liabilities) must rise over the economic cycle. Every pound we invest in British industry will strengthen, not weaken, the nation’s finances.
I want to thank the Bank of England’s governor and the monetary policy committee for the work they have done. But independence must never mean isolation. So today we are establishing a new Bank concordat, ensuring that the pace of quantitative tightening and debt issuance is in the public interest. If the economy operates below its potential, the Bank’s current duty to support the government’s economic policy will stand alongside its duty to maintain price stability. That is not politicisation – it is partnership in service of the common good.
Mr Speaker, technology can power growth. But it cannot give it purpose on its own. Productivity comes from steady demand, investment and decent work. So we will pilot a regional job guarantee, offering jobs to all at a living wage in local green and care projects – rebuilding communities, securing incomes and achieving stability through full employment. In a volatile world, Britain cannot build its future on imported growth. Our new Agency for Public Investment will back homegrown industry and enterprise so that value and jobs stay here, not overseas.
To those who cry “too much borrowing”, I say this: we’ve paid billions to banks for money we created during quantitative easing. That waste ends today. The Bank will adopt a tiered-reserve system, saving taxpayers £20bn a year. This will help to end austerity and fund public services. And, yes, we will introduce a bank tax. Those who profit most must help rebuild the nation they rely on. That is sound finance: backing productivity, not balance sheets.
Mr Speaker, every pound of day-to-day spending in this budget is fully funded. We will not raise income tax, national insurance or VAT. Promises made, promises kept.
This budget draws a line under the failed orthodoxy found on the opposition benches. We will invest where markets fail and revive the regions left behind. The Tories say Britain spent too much. The truth: they invested too little, too late and in too few of our people. Labour ends that failure today. I commend this statement to the House.
