Labour U-turns ‘have cost Britain £8.2 billion’

Labour’s U-turns in government have cost Britain an estimated £8.2 billion in growth, a think tank has found.

A new report from the Resolution Foundation found that, although progress has been made on the government’s economic aims, it has been stunted by Labour “running down its own plans”.

Despite Labour’s pledge to restore stability, Sir Keir Starmer’s numerous row-backs mean policy uncertainty is higher in this Parliament than any of the previous seven, the report found.

The think tank found the result of U-turns on personal independence payments, universal credit, winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap is an £8.2 billion hit to Britain’s economy.

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The research does not include the government’s most recent U-turns on business rates for pubs and inheritance tax rules for farmers, which are expected to cost another £300 million and £130 million respectively.

On Monday, the government also pulled an amendment to its Hillsborough Law - which aims to force public officials and contractors to tell the truth after disasters - amid concerns intelligence agencies could use it to avoid being bound by the proposed duty of candour.

Sir Keir’s time in office has been characterised by a string of humiliating U-turns – from the watering down of the government’s flagship benefits bill to a major U-turn on the controversial winter fuel cut last year.

This total number of U-turns made by Labour since the general election up to least nine – and by some counts 13.

Just last week, ministers scrapped plans requiring workers to sign up to its digital ID scheme in order to prove their right to work in the UK.

It came just days after the decision to provide additional support for pubs facing large hikes in business rates.

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Researchers found that the chancellor has announced £6.1 billion of U-turns - second only to Liz Truss’ “mini-Budget” in the last 15 years.

“Twenty years ago, the UK economy was close to catching up with Germany. But decades of stagnation mean that we’ve now been caught by Italy and are miles behind our former peers. It’s time the UK started to catch up,” Greg Thwaites, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said.

“There’s lots to welcome in the government’s economic growth strategy. But it has spent much of the past 18 months undermining that strategy with policy U-turns, kite-flying tax ideas and timidity in areas like trade where it needs to be bold.”

He added: “With signs that productivity may be turning a corner, the Government must capitalise by ramping up its plans. It should redouble efforts to unblock housebuilding in major cities, focus job support for young and older workers, and decide whether to bite the bullet and reverse some of the damage from Brexit.”