By Alexander Brown,James Martin McCarthy
Copyright belfastlive
Rachel Reeves is set to pledge paid employment for unemployed young people as part of a new Youth Guarantee today. In a major speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the Chancellor will introduce the scheme, coupled with the risk of benefits sanctions for those who reject it. This comes after she told broadcasters this morning that the welfare system required reform, and her dismissal of Andy Burnham’s economic agenda, who declined to comment on Friday about his aspirations to become Prime Minister . In her address, Ms Reeves will state: “I will never be satisfied while too many people’s potential is wasted, frozen out of employment, education, or training. There’s no defending it. It’s bad for business, bad for taxpayers, bad for our economy, and it scars people’s prospects throughout their lives.” She will outline plans to finance a new Youth Guarantee, where every young person will be assured a college place or an apprenticeship, or one-on-one support to find work. And anyone unemployed for 18 months will be offered a paid work placement, reports the Mirror . She will further state, “Too many people’s potential is wasted.” The Chancellor will also utilise her speech to express her ambitions to dismantle barriers for working-class children. She is set to declare: “I believe in a Britain based on opportunity – where ordinary kids can flourish, unhindered by their background. And I believe that Britain’s real wealth is found not only in the success of the fortunate few, but in the talents of all our people, in every part of our great country.” In a clear demonstration of a carrot and stick approach, Ms Reeves told Sky News on Monday morning that unemployment benefits are not an “alternative” to work. She stated: “It’s not the case that unemployment benefits or Universal Credit are an alternative to work.” She added “you can’t say no, I don’t fancy doing that, I’d rather stay on the benefits”. In a wide-ranging series of interviews, the Chancellor also hinted that the Greater Manchester Mayor, Mr Burnham, “risks going the way of Liz Truss” as she cautioned that being Chancellor meant saying “no to good causes” to ensure “the numbers add up. She commented: “If he’s saying… anybody that says you can just borrow more, I do think that risks going the way of Liz Truss. “I want bring that debt down I want to bring those borrowing costs down. “There’s nothing progressive, nothing Labour about that. The Chancellor also supported the PM’s assertion that Reform UK’s controversial policy of scrapping indefinite leave to remain is “racist”. Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Reeves stated: “I’m going to not play the man, I’m going to play the ball, and that policy I believe is a racist policy. That doesn’t mean that people that support Reform are racist, absolutely not. “But there are lots of people listening, and their neighbour may have been born abroad. They may be married to somebody who was born abroad, a person sitting next to them in the office might have been born abroad. “But if they are here legally, they are working and they are contributing, I don’t think there is any case to say you’re going to deport that person.” For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our politics newsletter here.
