Streeting sets out his stall for a progressive capitalism that will get Britain building again

Streeting set out a stall for a progressive capitalism fuelled by social democracy in a speech that was critical of the current government that he was until recently a part of, especially in what he described as a failure to prioritise. He deplored the recent dictat to reduce spending across every government department by 1% since it was the exact opposite of making difficult choices; he also criticised the decision to announce £4.5 billion of public spending on “walking and cycling” the day after the defence secretary had resigned due to the government’s inadequate funding of the country’s security, arguing that the public would know which of these was the real priority.

“Fiscal policy and monetary stability are non-negotiable”, he told the invited audience of around 60. He believes that small “thoroughbred” firms, often those that spin-out of universities, at the front end of high-growth AI, advanced technology and manufacturing, life sciences and the creative industries should become the spearhead for “a new industrialisation in every part of Britain”.  

He advocated for a pro-growth and pro-fairness agenda, acknowledging that the tax burden in Britain is too high. He pledged to move taxation away from employment and onto wealth without providing any specifics. Surprisingly, in laying out his economic agenda, he praised the pro-growth and pro-fairness agenda of that “well known socialist” Nigel Lawson in equalising capital gains and income tax rates while being more generous to genuine investment. He also pressed for welfare to be a springboard back into work and not just a safety-net. 

He confirmed that he has the necessary support to get onto a leadership ballot and said that he had not triggered the ballot to avoid jumping the gun on Andy Burnham. He hoped that if Burnham is successful at Thursday’s Makerfield by-election that the prime minister would set out a timescale for a leadership election without the need for it to be triggered by a contender.

Central to Streeter’s economic policy is a mandate for cheaper electricity that would make warming homes cheaper and remove a fundamental blocker to business and industrial growth. “Electricity must become a cheaper, easier and more reliable choice… we should show the world that net zero is compatible with a pro-growth agenda”. He also made it clear that “British capitalism suffers from a lack of competition”.

His recipe is for progressive capitalism that will “help Britain grow again” and tackle what he described as the “productivity desert”. He acknowledged the failure to build enough homes and said that this was “no longer a housing or social failure, but a growth failure”. He argued for more radical planning reforms, more freedoms for city centre and small-scale developments and stronger national decision-making on big sites, pressing for consequences on councils that fail to build. He also called for bringing empty units back into use. 

If prime minister, he pledged to bring forward emergency infrastructure legislation to fast-track nationally important energy, grid, transport and infrastructure needs. “Clean power, lower bills, new homes, AI and industrial renewal all depend on Britain’s ability to build so let’s get Britain building again”.

On defence his core argument was to match increased investment with modernisation and to fund increased funding by “pro-growth choices”. Britain should become the “world’s most attractive destination for researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs, he argued, through a global talent programme “to recruit 20,000 scientists, engineers and AI experts over the rest of this parliament”.  

Among other commitments in his speech was pressing for closer links to the EU and creating a sponsor body for care workers. If successful he pledged himself to a commitment to the manifesto that the Labour government was elected upon. Streeting concluded by asserting that “Britain must become easier to build in, and easier to innovate in”. 

Acknowledging that he is far from being favourite in a leadership election, he described himself as the “plucky underdog” fighting with new ideas against the establishment. He argued that the election should be fought on ideas and not personalities and consistently refused to criticise Burnham, confirming that he had been in Makerfield on the previous day (15 June) campaigning for the man who had been his immediate Labour government predecessor as Health Secretary, acknowledging that Burnham had been very helpful to him in his first months in the role. 

Despite a concentration on generalisations rather than detail, Streeting successfully projected an air of authenticity, comparing himself to the flip-flopping changes of priority in the current government by saying that he would set out his stall and stick to it. “People may not agree with me, but they will know where I stand,” he asserted. 

Given the economic and fiscal fundamentals of his speech, I’m not so sure that it was setting out his stall as a wannabe prime minister, as much as it was laying down a marker to be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer.