City MP's plan to change Labour's future direction

Rachel Reeves’s proposal for a ‘local wealth building’ unit is one of the ideas contained in a pamphlet called ‘The Everyday Economy’ the Labour MP is launching this afternoon.

The unit would aim to “build local capacity in every region, making sure that all parts of Britain have the resources to address their own problems and take advantage of their own strengths”.

Ms Reeves, who represents Leeds West, says the document will “contribute to the debate over Labour’s future direction and outlines new policy proposals”.

She says the new approach “would prioritise work, family and the places where people live as the three key pillars of a strategy to grow a successful economy that benefits everyone”.

Other proposals include an industrial strategy which prioritises improving work, wages and productivity in sectors like care and retail.

The MP also proposes that at least two employees should be on company boards to give workers a bigger say over their pay and conditions.

She has suggested a British Investment Bank or decentralised Citizen’s Wealth Fund to provide commercial loans on a long-term basis and new Royal Colleges in sectors such as social care to drive up standards.

Ms Reeves, who chairs the cross-party business committee of MPs, said: “The Labour Party must come up with a vision of post-Brexit Britain. The neo-liberal model is exhausted, but we do not yet have an alternative.

“Labour needs to develop a new political economy. National renewal must begin with the everyday economy of work, family and the places people live.”