The government’s economic plan is failing, and the UK faces a “lost decade”, Ed Miliband will say in a speech in Birmingham today.
He will warn that the UK could go the way of Japan during the 1990s unless something is done to turn it around, and will argue that there’s a way this can be done.
Japan never quite recovered from its burst bubble of 1989 – and the crisis brought its economy to a standstill for about 10 years, as it watched rivals China and South Korea expand. Miliband’s message – which also will stress that Britain is in the slowest recovery for 100 years – is planted firmly in the scare category. It will also echo Vince Cable, who warned of a “lost decade” back in December.
In an interview with the Times Miliband said:
This Government is now leading Britain into that lost decade. They’re shrugging their shoulders. They have run out of ideas. They are resigned. It is One Nation Labour’s task to show people it does not have to be this way. Not promising overnight answers. Not promising that things will be easy.
He will also attempt to make a distinction between public faith in David Cameron and public faith in politics in general:
I know that however discredited, divided and damaging this Government is, I will not assume that their unpopularity will mean people turn to Labour. Indeed, many people will believe that the failure of this Government means they should give up on politics altogether.
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…and lay the groundwork for rebuilding trust in Labour:
I have sought to understand why people left Labour. From banking regulation to immigration to Iraq, I have been clear about what we got wrong.
Miliband’s alternative measures, he told the Times, will include an apprenticeship programme, reforming banks and the energy market, a 10p income tax, and a “real jobs guarantee” for the young.
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