PM to say growth can be the 'antidote to division'

Keir Starmer will attempt to brush aside critics of his economic strategy today by insisting it can be the "antidote to division" being sown by the populist right.

- Pippa Crerar

Under pressure to be more radical, the prime minister will tell the Labour party that economic growth “can either build a nation or it can it pull it apart” depending on who and which parts of the country might benefit.

As the government struggles to strike a more hopeful tone on the economy, despite a tight fiscal backdrop and difficult decisions ahead over tax, Starmer will say that rising living standards could “face down” the threats of a volatile world.

The prime minister has adopted a more combative tone against the right in recent days, in part to reassure Labour's frustrated MPs and members that he is the right person to take the fight to Nigel Farage in the coming years.

In his speech to the Labour party conference in Liverpool he will attempt to reassert his authority over his restive party, as Ipsos found yesterday that he was the least popular prime minister in the history of its polling. “The defining mission of this government, is to grow the economy, improve living standards and change the way we create wealth,” the prime minister is expected to say.

“An economy that grows, not just from the top but from the grassroots. Because growth is the pound in your pocket. It is more money for trips, meals out, the little things that bring joy to all our lives, the peace of mind that comes from economic security.

“But it is also the antidote to division. That’s the most important aspect of national renewal. The way you grow an economy, not just how much but who and where benefits, can either build a nation or it can it pull it apart.

“And in the world we must face the threats we must defeat, Britain needs an economy that unites, every person, every community, every great nation on these islands.