Growing pains
LONG before he became PM, Sir Keir Starmer outlined the top priorities of his Government: “Growth, growth and growth.”
Hardly a day went by without him invoking the “G” word as he told us wealth creation was the central pillar of his plan to create good jobs and cut household bills.
But yesterday we learned the fruits of 20 months of Labour: zero growth and zero hope of things improving in the year ahead.
Latest figures show the UK economy was flatlining even before the Middle East crisis erupted.
Since then, oil prices have gone up by 35 per cent and will rise even further if the war drags on.
It has left motorists feeling the pain at the pumps and, with an inflation spike looming, it may soon impact on weekly shopping bills.
We are paying the price for Labour’s wretched failure to make the economy resilient to shockwaves abroad by cutting the bloated welfare bill and investing in skills training to boost output.
Don’t count on Sir Keir to dig us out of stagflation.
He’s too distracted by the Mandelson scandal and internal plots to topple him, while his Chancellor Rachel Reeves insists their economic plan remains the right one.
The only route to growth is through long-term, consistent and dogged direction from the top.
We’ve witnessed as much of that as we have growth. Zero.
A hire calling
THE scourge of youth unemployment is a major cause of low productivity and social inequality.
Shamefully, one in eight 16 to 24-year-olds is not in a job, education or training — worse than the EU average.
So it is welcome news that Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is to beef up apprenticeships and give companies incentives to hire young workers.
But the Chancellor’s decision to pile extra costs on employers by hiking the minimum wage and National Insurance contributions will make it difficult for him to dent the disturbing figures.
Without a rethink at the Treasury, he is working with one hand tied behind his back.
Dragon its feet
IT is four days since HMS Dragon left Portsmouth amid fanfares and flag-waving after a frantic race to get it ready for war.
But until yesterday, the £1billion destroyer was secretly drifting in British waters just 170 miles down the coast.
A standard pedalo travelling at 2mph could have completed the same voyage by now.
It’s clear the ship was rushed out of dry dock for one reason only.
To save the blushes of our dithering and woefully unprepared Prime Minister.
