Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will launch his 10-year vision for the country next month, with the document to be presented to the House of Commons before it rises for the Christmas recess.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Burnham said the proposals would include more details on a national care service and would "lay a new path" for the country, "breaking with the failed policies of the party opposite".
Badenoch criticises Government as 'adrift'
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch responded by saying the Government was "adrift" and that Labour had left the UK in "limbo". She pressed the Prime Minister on reported unhappiness from Labour MPs about his proposals for the next decade, which have been reported in the Guardian.
Among the concerns raised was from Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen), leader of the Labour reindustrialisation research group, who said plans for reindustrialisation may not be realised. Fellow group member Jonathan Hinder (Pendle and Clitheroe) told the newspaper that "pretty drastic action" was needed.
It was also reported that the Boston Consulting Group was advising on the strategy. Mrs Badenoch said: "Is it really true he has so little vision for this country he needs the Boston Consulting Group to write it for him?"
Prime Minister defends approach
The Prime Minister did not deny working with the consulting group, saying he walked up Downing Street promising a 10-year plan because he was determined to give the country the stability that the previous government failed to provide.
Mrs Badenoch derided apparent plans to merge the DVLA and DVSA in the decade-long vision, saying: "I'm not surprised he's asked management consultants to help him write his 10-year plan. He needs all the help that he can get."
She added: "This Government is totally adrift. They need consultants to tell them what to think. They need civil servants to tell them what to do. So, we are left with a do-nothing budget, a spending review delayed, a 10-year plan outsourced."
Exchange on social care and energy
Mr Burnham replied that he was bringing forward a national care service when the Conservatives ignored social care for years, and was acting to get people's energy bills down. He noted that a quarter of a million young people became Neet between 2021 and 2024 when Mrs Badenoch was in the cabinet, and that the welfare bill rose by £33 billion in her last year in office.
Mrs Badenoch also asked whether the Government will approve drilling at the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea, calling it "ludicrous" that ministers were stopping drilling off the coast of Scotland but supporting it near the Falkland Islands.
Mr Burnham said the Government had recently approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, something she failed to do when in government, and said proceeds are being used through the Energy Wealth Fund, created by the Chancellor, to accelerate the delivery of renewables. The Cop31 climate summit began on Monday in Antalya, Turkey.
