Labour on defensive over manifesto

Reeves reassures business chiefs as Streeting hits out at private schools

- Jitendra Joshi

LABOUR today defended its manifesto plans after independent analysts said they rely on a vague promise of economic growth and do not reveal the full extent of spending choices to come.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting insisted that growth levels seen under the last Labour government were a realistic ambition, citing his own plan to cut NHS waiting lists and enlist 8,500 new mental health staff as contributing to getting three million people back into work after the pandemic.

He said the Labour plan would not raise taxes on "working people" and was "fully costed", in comparison to Rishi Sunak's "unfunded" Tory manifesto, likening it to "Liz Truss on steroids".

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves briefed business leaders in London this morning after leader Sir Keir Starmer yesterday vowed to "relight the fires" of the economy. She tweeted: "Our manifesto in two words: economic growth."