Rishi Sunak latest: Starmer accuses PM of ‘archiving growth’ as UK faces worst downturn in G7

The Labour leader has said he has turned the Labour Party “inside out” since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Asked by an attendee at the CBI conference if the rest of his party are behind him on his plans, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Labour Party has changed, we’ve turned the Labour Party inside out and that’s particularly significant when it comes to the way we’re working with business.

“I say to you loud and clear, this Labour Party has changed, there is no going back and it is united behind what we’re trying to achieve.”

He described his last party conference as “the best conference we’ve had, frankly, since 1996”, which came ahead of Sir Tony Blair’s landslide victory in the general election.

Sir Keir Starmer has said the current trade deal with the EU is “not working well” but vowed not to take the UK back into the single market, saying “we have to make Brexit work”.

He told the CBI conference: “We are not going back to the EU. That means not going back into the single market or customs union.

“But we have to make Brexit work, the deal the government has got us is not working well. It’s holding business back, it’s holding growth back.”

He said getting a “pragmatic answer” to make the Northern Ireland Protocol work and reducing trade barriers are areas that could yield improvements.

“I do think we can have a better Brexit. I think we have to make Brexit work,” he said.

“I think what’s happened so far has been a government that simply said the words ‘get Brexit done’ and put in place a deal which I think most people in this room would say is not working well for business, is not working well for exports, is not working well for growth.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he would not commit to “arbitrary” numbers on bringing down immigration.

The Labour leader told the CBI conference: “If what’s driving the numbers is our skills failure, or one of the big drivers is skills failure, then I think we need to address the skills issue rather than just talk about arbitrary numbers.

“That does mean if we get this right then immigration will go down in some of those areas that are overly reliant on immigration, but equally we’re not going to hold businesses back if there’s innovation, technologies, where we do need talent from abroad.

Sir Keir Starmer has conceded that flagship Labour policies may have to be shelved as a result of the economic conditions he would find if he entered No 10.

He told the CBI conference in Birmingham: “We will inherit an economy that’s been damaged by the last 12 weeks and the last 12 years, and we need to fundamentally accept that as an incoming government.

“Restoring stability is key. There’s a cost to instability and we have been paying that cost over the last few weeks and over the last few years.”

That would mean restoring faith in the economic institutions and following clear fiscal rules.

“That stability has to be our first priority. If that means there are things – good Labour things – which we can’t do as quickly as we would like, then that is a consequence of that security.”

He said “we are going to have to be responsible” for clearing up the economic mess.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour wanted a “pragmatic” approach to economic migration while seeking to ensure that British workers had the skills needed to fill vacancies.

He told the CBI conference: “Of course we will be pragmatic. Of course we understand that we need to act now so that we help business and drive growth.

“But we have to address and run towards the challenge that is skills, run towards the challenge that is ensuring we have everybody back in the workforce, because there are hundreds of thousands of people who aren’t working now who were working just a few years ago.

“This is, for me, an economic argument, not a push for political tactics.”

Sir Keir Starmer told businesses that trade unions “must be a crucial part of our partnership”.

After telling the CBI conference that relaxation of migration rules “will come alongside new conditions for business”, the Labour leader said: “We can talk about how this is done, dialogue is at the heart of partnership. But negotiation with trade unions will be part of it.

“I said at the TUC conference my Labour Party is unashamedly pro-business. And I say here today that trade unions must be a crucial part of our partnership.

“Our common goal must be to help the British economy off its immigration dependency.”

Justice secretary Dominic Raab acted so badly in a meeting that a top Whitehall official had to apologise later for his behaviour, it has been claimed.

The cabinet minister is already being investigated after two formal complaints about his alleged behaviour, with allegations that government staff were “scared” to go into his office.

The under-pressure minister acted “badly and inappropriately” in a meeting with the Home Office earlier this year, Whitehall sources told The Guardian.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the government of having “archived Britain’s growth” amid forecasts the UK is to face the worst downturn of major economies next year.

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Britain is also set for a recession which much of the rest of the world will avoid, before it sharply downgraded its forecasts for the UK economy, predicting it will shrink by 0.4 per cent in 2023 and grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2024.

Speaking at CBI conference in Birmingham this morning, the Labour leader told businesses he had searched for the Government’s industrial strategy on the Gov.uk website earlier today..

Its stated aims, he said, “was” to boost productivity to create good jobs. “And scratched across the top is one word – I kid you not – archived,” Sir Keir added.

“Archived? Doesn’t that just tell you everything. The government has archived Britain’s growth.”

Sir Keir went on to insist a “new business model” was needed while setting out his plan, telling the conference that “trickle-down” economics had been “tested to destruction”.

The global economic thinktank sharply downgraded its forecasts for the UK economy, predicting it will shrink by 0.4 per cent in 2023 and grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2024. As recently as September, it was expecting GDP to flatline next year.

The OECD blamed worker shortages and “untargeted” energy support for painful inflation, forecast to peak at the end of this year around its current level of 11.1 per cent and remain above 9 per cent into early 2023, before slowing to 4.5 per cent by the end of next year and 2.7 per cent in 2024.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

Sir Keir Starmer said a “new business model” was needed while setting out his plan, telling the CBI conference that “trickle-down” economics had been “tested to destruction”.

However, he said if the South East was allowed to race ahead “redistribution can’t be the one-word plan for the rest of Britain”.

“Working people want growth from the grassroots jobs that are well-paid and secure, communities standing on their own feet, public services strong enough to help them succeed.

“So, I promise you now, my Labour government will care – must care – as much about raising productivity everywhere as we’ve done in the past, about redistribution.

“We’re going to throw everything at growing our collective contribution, our productive capacity in every community.”