Labour has failed in its No.1 mission, warns Sir Mel Stride | Politics | News | EUROtoday

As Britain wakes up after Christmas, we mirror on a yr the place our financial system has been taken within the mistaken route. Growth in 2025 is now anticipated to have been decrease than was predicted in the beginning of the yr – regardless of claims from Rachel Reeves that the financial system has overwhelmed the forecasts.

And the most recent World Economic League Table from the Centre for Economics and Business Research exhibits the UK is predicted to fall within the international rankings with regards to our output per particular person. Labour promised “growth, growth, growth.” In reality, they mentioned it was their “number one mission”.

But on the measure which Keir Starmer himself mentioned he would measure himself by, GDP per capita, we aren’t getting any richer. While different nations surge forward, incomes right here in Britain are stagnating.

And Labour ended the yr with a certain signal that they’ll solely make the issues worse.

Their Benefits Budget rewarded welfare, not work, and did not create the circumstances for sustainable development.

A weak financial system impacts each nook of each day life: from job alternatives and wages to public companies and nationwide safety.

While rising economies embrace reform, innovation, and funding, Britain dangers being left behind – watching others rise whereas households right here really feel the squeeze.

It doesn’t need to be this manner. The answer is evident. Britain wants insurance policies that reward work, enterprise, and innovation – and financial self-discipline so we are able to ship stability and begin to carry taxes down.

We should make the UK a beautiful place for funding, minimize pointless levies and crimson tape, and guarantee our expertise is harnessed to drive development.

That is why this yr the Conservatives have set out a transparent plan to get spending underneath management, minimize the deficit, enhance companies by chopping enterprise charges for top streets, assist households by abolishing stamp responsibility on household houses, and reward work with a brand new First Job Bonus. All of this might strengthen the financial system and carry residing requirements.

Labour faces a alternative: proceed down a path of rising debt and stagnant development, or act decisively to revive confidence within the financial system. History will choose this Labour authorities not by rhetoric, however by outcomes – the alternatives it creates or those it lets slip away.

Britain can not afford complacency or insurance policies that prioritise political survival over nationwide prosperity. For households, for companies, and for our place on the planet, the message is evident: the time to behave is now.

As we are saying goodbye to 2025 – undoubtedly Rachel Reeves’ annus horribilis – I urge the Chancellor to alter course in 2026. It’s not too late to place the nation earlier than your personal political survival.