Britain has suffered 'lost decade' says Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves

The Leeds West MP pledged that a Labour Government would “keep down bills” with support for rising energy costs, as she made a speech laying out the “choice” people now have to continue towards another “lost” period, or voting for Labour as an alternative.

There are fears that rapidly soaring energy prices could be the norm for many months, with the Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey telling MPs earlier this week that he does not expect them to ease until the second half of 2023.

Meanwhile, official figures on Wednesday showed inflation jumped to 5.4 per cent in December – the highest level for almost 30 years.

Speaking this morning, Ms Reeves reflected on her own time working at the Bank of England and said: I saw the perils of an economy becoming trapped in a cycle where demand is sucked out of the economy and growth suppressed.

“Britain has been through its own lost decade.

"Covid hit us harder than other countries, in terms of lives lost, and the hit to our economy.

“We have a choice.

“We can continue down the path of another Lost Decade. Or we can take an approach based on bringing people together in a national endeavour, and on understanding that Britain’s real wealth is found - not in the bank accounts of friends and donors of the Conservative Party - but in the effort and talent of tens of millions of working people in this country.

“Labour has a plan to build a stronger economy based on exactly that approach.

She was speaking in Bury, home to MP Christian Wakeford who dramatically defected from the Conservatives to Labour before Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday.

Mr Wakeford said that “only Labour are coming up with solutions” to the cost-of-living crisis, recovery from the pandemic and to “defend security for all”.Introducing Ms Reeves, he added: “The Conservative Party aren’t even talking about the problem, let alone offering solutions.”

He said Labour was “ready to provide an alternative government that this country can be proud of and deserves, and certainly not to be embarrassed by, and this is one of the reasons why I’m here today”.

Earlier today, Ms Reeves had praised Mr Wakeford and shared her happiness “to have him as a Labour MP and I’m looking forward to getting to know him.”

Speaking to Radio 4 this morning, she added: “He has looked at the Conservative Party and sees that they’re no longer fit to lead.

“He looks at the Labour Party under Keir Starmer, he sees that the Labour Party has changed.

“He also sees his old party the Conservative Party has changed and many people are drawing the same conclusion that the Conservatives and Boris Johnson are no longer fit to lead.”