A group of influential Labour MPs has called for an urgent renewal of the party's economic strategy, arguing that it must offer voters more than "better management of decline" before the next general election. The soft-left Tribune group, including former cabinet minister Louise Haigh and MP Yuan Yang, published a series of essays urging bolder action to salvage Labour's remaining time in power.
Thinly Disguised Attack on Starmer
In a foreword, Haigh and Yang issued a thinly disguised attack on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is facing a leadership challenge. The MPs wrote: "We do not present this as the final word. They are an invitation – to challenge assumptions, test ideas and help build a broader coalition for economic renewal. Because the economic status quo is no longer defensible. And if politics is to regain trust, it must offer more than better management of decline."
Policy Proposals
The group called for higher taxes on wealth, action on the cost of living, and more borrowing to fund investment, including a redrawing of fiscal rules. Haigh proposed replacing Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules with a requirement to target lower debt levels over 10 years rather than five, allowing more flexible investment. She also called for scrapping stamp duty in favor of a proportional property tax, higher capital gains tax, and breaking up the Treasury by moving budget-setting powers to No 10 and creating a new growth ministry.
Yang urged Labour to use its response to the Iran war to overhaul cost of living support, proposing a free minimum energy guarantee, cuts to green and social levies on energy bills, and free bus fares for under-25s and universal credit recipients.
Leadership Tensions
More than 70 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure. The health secretary, Wes Streeting, is seen as a potential challenger, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is also seeking a route to parliament to run for leader. The Tribune group insisted the essays were long-planned and focused on ideas, not individuals.
Yang said: "You can see our constituents are clearly dissatisfied with the economic outcomes. So it is time for us to dig into the reasons behind that and to think about the whole structure of the economy."
