‘I’ll be as bold as Attlee’
If you achieve the huge election mandate that polls are suggesting, will you be as bold as Clement Attlee in 1945 or be locked into austerity-lite?
KS: I’ll be as bold as Attlee. I ran a public service during austerity, I saw the impact of the Tories’ decisions. There will be no return to austerity with a Labour government. We’ll have a decade of national renewal instead, with ambitious investment and reform.
Why is all debate on migration currently framed around a negative impact? Doesn’t this simply play into a narrative that all those coming here are on the make and to be mistrusted?
KS: People who come to the UK to work make a substantial contribution to our economy, our public services and our communities. But we do have to recognise that under the Tories businesses are too dependent on bringing people here to fill vacancies, rather than training up British workers. And we cannot continue with the appalling tragedy of people dying in the Channel, exploited by criminal gangs.
The benefits system is punitive and causes distress for people who cannot work. The DWP assessment process is frequently dehumanising. How will you fix this and make sure help, rather than suspicion, is the motivating drive?
KS: The system isn’t working, and too many people are unable to access the support they need to live independent, fulfilling lives. We want to change this, so we’ll tackle the backlog of Access to Work claims and give disabled people the confidence to start working – without the fear of an immediate benefit reassessment if it does not work out.
If you came across a parent in a shop who was shoplifting baby formula to feed their child, what would you do?
KS: I’d offer to pay for it. The desperation of families around the country should make the Tories feel nothing but shame. Of course, shoplifting is a problem for businesses, so we’d have 13,000 more neighbourhood police to provide reassurance on our high streets. But we’d also change the rules
