THE leader of Harlow Labour has praised the shadow chancellor’s speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool this afternoon.

Chris Vince said: “Today’s speech by Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves can leave no one in any doubt that not all politicians are the same.  

“In stark contrast to last week’s Conservative ‘trickle down economic model’ budget which gave tax cuts to the wealthy, scrapped the cap on bankers bonuses and caused a disastrous drop in the value of the pound, Reeves set out Labour’s ambitious plan to not only tackle the cost-of-living crisis in the short term but also think about the long term future of our country.  

Unlike the Conservatives, who are gambling not only our futures but also the futures of our children and grand children, Labour will tax large energy companies who are reaping huge rewards from the cost-of-living crisis by continuing to collect record profits. 

Labour would reverse the cut to the 45% upper rate of tax and use this money to recruit 5,000 new health visitors and an extra 10,000 nurse and midwifery placements to help our beleaguered NHS. The extent of 12 years of Tory austerity on our own hospital is evident by 13 hour waits in A & E, an issue exacerbated by the closure of our walk-in centres and a catastrophic lack of investment in mental health services.

“Under this Conservative government the pound is at an all time low which means, due to oil and other commodities being traded in dollars, everything is more expensive.  We need a general election to elect a Government which is on the side of the people and not the energy giants and the already very well off.  The next Labour government will be a government which is on your side!”