Labor’s Big Budget and the Reset Policy of Kemi Badenoch’s Victory – Laura Kuenssberg

A senior business leader told me: “They’ve done the first part well, in a more traditional Labor style, but to really take shape they need a very strong second part… creating a vision, energy, concrete incentives and a plan.” for growth and wealth creation – we still need to work on it.”

On the other hand, Labor supporters in the union are happy with the extra cash for some public services and the change in borrowing rules to allow more money to be spent on long-term projects.

But there are concerns, as one leader put it, that the NI rise for employers will be “raised in every meeting room” as a justification for lower pay. And the left’s dissatisfaction with the cap on the two-child allowance and the winter fuel allowance remains – with a judicial review of the decision on these pension payments in the near future.

But forget about the inevitable hassles and stress. The Budget filled in many of the gaps about this government, answering part of the larger question: what does Keir Starmer actually stand for?

And the answer may be almost a line from the Gordon Brown budget of days gone by – economic stability, increased government spending, schools and hospitals top of the list.

Starmer’s supporters say discipline in day-to-day spending – even cuts in some departments – sets it apart from Labor budgets of the past, arguing they have taken up the Conservative mantle as the party that can be trusted with public money.

But there is no doubt that the Budget illuminates the priorities of classic Labor instincts rather than the murky middle ground.

A government source suggests none of this should be a surprise.

“All the traditional centre-left arguments were present in the election – ending homelessness, VAT on private schools – overall they pass the test of fairness, and that’s the most important thing.”

“Work is in his veins,” says a cabinet minister. And in the next few weeks, Labor will publish a so-called “program for government” that will make the situation even clearer.