The Economic Competence of the Labour Party in Historical Perspective

Abstract

The theme of the relationship between Labour Party and economic competence resurfaced in February 2024 when Keir Starmer decided to scale down its £28 billion green investment pledge. This work explores the historical and structural reasons why the economic competence issue has tended to be ‘owned’ by the Tories. It highlights that the definition of economic competence has often coincided with an emphasis on monetary stability and balancing government budgets with relatively low levels of taxation from the late 1970s onwards. The Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) crisis in the 1990s led to a partial redefinition of economic competence, now built around a political economy of ‘constrained discretion’ and ‘credible Keynesianism’. The 2007–8 global financial crisis gave the Conservative Party the opportunity to regain its reputation for competence by arguing that the crisis had been the consequence of excessive public spending. The Labour Party's decision to sacrifice its biggest single policy pledge on the altar of financial probity heralds the difficulties that the new Labour government will face when attempting to reconcile the need for an active and strategic state with its stance on fiscal rectitude.