You may barely be over the excitement of the Budget, but brace yourselves: Andy Burnham’s Ten Year Plan for Britain is coming into view. Expect a ban on Smoky Bacon flavour crisps and a state-run Poundland in every postcode.
The PM’s ‘Brexit reset’ will see the UK sign up to all the latest EU rules on food packaging, meaning (among other things) that flavoured snacks won’t be able to refer to meat in their name if they don’t actually contain any. We may also have to say goodbye to sachets of ketchup in greasy spoons and pubs, since Brussels has banned them. It’s all to play for!
Meanwhile, Burnham and his Business Secretary – the well-meaning but out of his depth Jonathan Reynolds – are determined not to let Poundland collapse without a fight. One minister in the Lords replied “no” when asked if the government would rule out nationalising the embattled discount retailer, though it’s possible he misheard the question.
No word yet on whether ministers have drawn a link between the hardship facing retailers and the fact that their policies have made it £4K more expensive to hire someone on the minimum wage. Far better to drag private equity over the coals.
It’s consultation time!
As for that Ten Year Plan, word is that it will be more of a speech (maybe in December) followed by a string of consultations. Given that you can’t change an old barn into an AirBnB without a consultation it seems fitting that changing the country should require one, too.
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SUBSCRIBE HEREThere was a time when radical plans for a decade of reform required a general election, but perhaps an online questionnaire makes more sense. Perhaps there will be a question on public spending. “By how much do you think public spending should increase over the course of the Ten Year Plan? Ten per cent? 20 per cent? More than 20 per cent?”
I shall have to type “dramatic and sustained reduction” in the “any other comments” box.
Standing in for Burnham at PMQs, Louise Haigh was asked by Tory Alex Burghart whether the Ten Year Plan will commit to reducing welfare spending, currently forecast to increase from £353bn a year to £431bn by 2031. Her answer was vague.
Perhaps she needs to wait and see the results of a consultation before she forms a view.