Keir Starmer’s success as Prime Minister will be determined by whether he gets the UK’s sluggish economy motoring. Creating the conditions for growth and incentivising businesses to hire more people is essential to his agenda.
Another critical aspect, particularly in a post-Brexit era, is ensuring workers are ready and able to fill the opportunities firms will offer.
Experts agree the UK’s record in equipping its citizens to compete in the global economy is a disgrace. A scandalous legacy of the last Tory Government is that over nine million people are economically inactive across the UK. Nearly three million folk are out of work due to long term sickness.
Sweeping generalisations should not be made about people’s circumstances, but the shadow of covid looms large.
The mental health of millions of citizens nosedived during covid and services are a postcode lottery. Ill health is another drag anchor on the economy, with nearly one in six Scots languishing on waiting lists.
The aim of Starmer’s welfare policies is to ensure social security is a bridge to work for people who can take a job, rather than a trap. It is about reforming a sclerotic job centre system and instituting a system based on rights and responsibilities.
The rights come with the Government recognising the duty of Ministers to provide those out of work with training or employment opportunities. A discriminatory minimum wage that hammers young people will also be abolished.
But with rights comes obligations and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s new system is a two way street. If young people on benefits are offered paid work or training, these opportunities must be seized otherwise sanctions will be applied.
The complication of a benefit system that is part-reserved, part-devolved Holyrood shows the need for cross-border cooperation.
Starmer has faced the accusation that he lacks a Tony Blair-style narrative about the country’s future – a criticism not without merit. Reforming welfare and slashing NHS waiting times would be huge steps towards turning round the economy and securing a second term.
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