A 2p National Insurance cut has been proposed by a thinktank as the Labour government seeks to recover from poor local election results. The Growth Group, allied to Wes Streeting, has outlined a vision for Britain's future.
Key Proposals in the Report
The thinktank report includes sweeping tax cuts, cost-of-living support, and major government reforms. It calls for a 2p reduction in employee National Insurance, reform of capital gains tax, and greater devolution of powers to local mayors.
In a document titled An Honest Day, Mark McVitie, director of the Labour Growth Group, which has connections with Streeting, proposed raising capital gains tax to fund the National Insurance cut.
Focus on Energy and Economy
“Clean power is not the problem,” the document states. “The problem is a system that can build clean generation while failing to get enough of it to households and productive firms at a price they can afford.”
One minister described the report as “a really radical programme that backs working people, cuts the cost of essentials, and takes on the interests profiting from Britain not working”.
Director's Statement
McVitie said the party is “drowning in speculation about personalities” while “the country is only interested in what we can actually do to remake the link between an honest day's work and a good, secure life.” He added: “We have done this work because the substance is what matters and the country is years ahead of mainstream politics on the diagnosis. They will not vote for more of the same. Anyone serious about how Labour wins again, or governs well, will have to engage with the argument here.”
The report was partly compiled by MP Chris Curtis, co-chair of the LGG, who has publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign as prime minister.
Curtis's Vision
“Britain should be a country where hard work, enterprise and service are properly rewarded,” said Curtis, a former YouGov pollster. “But for too long we have built an economy where owning scarce assets pays better than doing useful work, and where too many people profit from broken systems rather than creating value. That can change. Our job is not to manage the consequences of failure, but to rebuild the foundations of a decent economy: more homes, cheaper energy, stronger industries, better care, and markets that work for people again.”
