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1 week ago
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The events of the past week have been heart-wrenching for the labour movement. Angela Rayner is not just a friend, she is a trailblazer: proof that whatever your start in life, you can rise to the very top through hard work, grit and a government that is willing to fight on the side of working people. She has been an inspiration to so many and a true force of nature. Our party and our government will be poorer without her around the cabinet table.
I am deeply grateful for the encouragement I have received from party members, colleagues and friends in recent days about the deputy leadership. To be considered a possible successor to Rayner is truly humbling.
That said, I will not be standing.
Labour was elected in 2024 to rebuild Britain – not simply to steady the ship, but to remake it completely. We need strong voices pushing for that renewal: on the economy, on workers’ rights and on the climate crisis. For me, that means remaining on the backbenches, where I can speak plainly and campaign boldly.
While the prime minister’s reshuffle has been described as a political reset, Britain now needs something even more urgent – an economic reset. The Conservatives left behind a sluggish economy and debt that was not being repaid by revenue raised by world-class infrastructure and public services. However, the problem isn’t just the level of debt – it’s the framework we’ve inherited for managing it.
In 2010, David Cameron established the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to analyse the public finances and judge whether the government was meeting its self-imposed targets for debt and deficits. However, its short-term analysis fails to account for the long-term benefits of radical policy changes such as public investment in programmes such as Sure Start. Unless we break free from these rules, Labour will struggle to deliver the transformation people voted for last year.
George Osborne’s issuing of a high number of inflation-linked gilts (more expensive to pay back than conventional gilts with a fixed interest rate when inflation is high) and policy of quantitative easing and subsequent unwinding of that policy now cost the country billions each year. Separately, we continue to subsidise commercial banks to the tune of £40bn annually through interest on reserves – a policy other institutions such as the European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank do not pursue – even as vital services remain underfunded.
This is not sustainable. Nor is it democratic. If unelected institutions such as the OBR dictate the limits of government ambition and the financial sector continues to drain public funds, we risk betraying the people and communities who put their trust in us last year.
Labour was elected to renew Britain and that means breaking free of rules designed to limit ambition and instead building an economy that serves democracy, not the other way around.
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That is the fight I want to lead – from the backbenches, yes, but with my full voice and independence. Britain cannot afford another lost decade of stagnation. Managed decline dressed up as moderation will not do. We must seize this moment to reset not just our politics, but our economy, so that Labour can deliver the transformation our country so urgently needs.
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Louise Haigh is Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley
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