In an interview with ITV to be broadcast on Thursday, Starmer said growth of 2.5% had been achieved under the previous Labour government. Asked if he was aiming for a similar target, Starmer said: “Yes, absolutely.”
Starmer has made the economy a focal point of his election campaign and his battle with Conservative Rishi Sunak. The British economy is suffering from high interest rates and weak consumer spending. The party leader wants to boost growth through big investments in housing, infrastructure and the energy transition.
question marks
Labour is comfortably ahead in the polls, so Starmer could become the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown, who was in power until 2010.
Economists question Starmer’s ambition for economic growth. Labour hopes that strong economic growth will mean that tough choices over tax increases and cuts will not be necessary.
But according to economists at Bloomberg News, Starmer is counting on some kind of “economic miracle”. They say this is an unrealistic target and that we can hope for a maximum of 2 per cent.
