Labour Party Conference Focuses on the Economy

The Labour Party Conference in Manchester is well under way, with speeches from the American philosopher Michael Sandel, Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls trying to excite the party faithful. Labour hopes that the conference will send out a message to the British public that they can be trusted with the economy, the main topic of conversation at the moment. Due to Labour policies being part of why the economy crashed in the first place, it will not be an easy task to undertake. Persuading the country that Labour can once again be trusted will take more time, unless the coalition has its way. As you probably know we are in the midst of a double dip recession, growth is contracting and unemployment is rising, this is making the government look very bad. It is even worse considering that only one other nation in the G20 is in a similar position. The fact that other countries have managed at least some recovery would indicate that there is something that the government can do to change things. Labour will be arguing throughout the rest of the conference on the need for a new economic policy, one built around construction and manufacturing.

In Ed Balls’ speech yesterday he outlined a plan in which the government could build 250,000 new affordable homes without borrowing a single penny. He says the money raised from selling 4G mobile internet licenses would cover the cost, thus boosting the economy without increasing the deficit. Yet other than that, there were not many clear plans from Ed Balls. This has led to accusations that he does not know what to do to get the economy moving. His rebuttal is that a lot could change in the two and a half years until the next election, he does not wish to make promises that he cannot keep.

Today is the most important day of the conference as Ed Miliband will be speaking to the party faithful. Although we don’t know the details of what will be in his speech, I think we can safely assume that he will focus on the economy and the banking sector. I will be tweeting throughout the afternoon session of the conference, including during Miliband’s speech. (@michaeljspence).