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Labour conference: Ed Balls calls for stamp duty break | Labour conference: Ed Balls calls for stamp duty break |
(about 4 hours later) | |
By Brian Wheeler BBC News, Political reporter, in Manchester | By Brian Wheeler BBC News, Political reporter, in Manchester |
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls is to call for 100,000 new affordable homes and a two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers to kick-start the economy. | Shadow chancellor Ed Balls is to call for 100,000 new affordable homes and a two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers to kick-start the economy. |
Mr Balls will say the £3-4bn needed to fund the move should come from the sale of the 4G mobile spectrum. | Mr Balls will say the £3-4bn needed to fund the move should come from the sale of the 4G mobile spectrum. |
He will use his keynote speech to Labour's conference in Manchester to call for "urgent" action on growth. | He will use his keynote speech to Labour's conference in Manchester to call for "urgent" action on growth. |
It comes amid a row between Labour's leadership and the unions over backing for a public sector pay freeze. | It comes amid a row between Labour's leadership and the unions over backing for a public sector pay freeze. |
Len McCluskey - leader of one of Labour's biggest financial backers Unite - said the party should be on the side of ordinary workers, saying leader Ed Miliband had "got it wrong". | Len McCluskey - leader of one of Labour's biggest financial backers Unite - said the party should be on the side of ordinary workers, saying leader Ed Miliband had "got it wrong". |
"People are fed up with this path to poverty and if Labour follows a watered down version of the coalition's policies, it will lose the next election." | "People are fed up with this path to poverty and if Labour follows a watered down version of the coalition's policies, it will lose the next election." |
Mr Miliband said Labour could not be dominated by special interests such as the trade unions. | Mr Miliband said Labour could not be dominated by special interests such as the trade unions. |
The row is expected to flare on the conference floor on Monday when union leaders will urge the party to condemn the public sector pay freeze. | The row is expected to flare on the conference floor on Monday when union leaders will urge the party to condemn the public sector pay freeze. |
'Urgent action' | |
In his speech, Mr Balls will attack the coalition's austerity programme, saying: "This is the fundamental truth: if more people are on the dole, not paying taxes, you can't get the deficit down. | |
"If businesses are going bust, not hiring new workers, you can't get the deficit down. | |
"If the economy's not growing, you can't get the deficit down." | |
He will call for "urgent action" to kick-start growth, suggesting a "clear and costed plan" to use the proceeds from the forthcoming sale of 4G radio frequencies to scrap stamp duty for two years on properties worth £250,000 or less. | |
"With this one-off windfall from the sale of the 4G spectrum, let's cut through the dither and rhetoric and actually do something," he will say. "Not more talk, but action right now. | |
"Let's commit that money from the 4G sale and build over the next two years: 100,000 new homes - affordable homes to rent and to buy - creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and getting the construction industry moving again. | "Let's commit that money from the 4G sale and build over the next two years: 100,000 new homes - affordable homes to rent and to buy - creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and getting the construction industry moving again. |
"Add to that a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers, and we can deliver real help for people aspiring to get on the property ladder." | "Add to that a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers, and we can deliver real help for people aspiring to get on the property ladder." |
The 4G auction will sell chunks of radio spectrum to support future mobile services, which will allow users to download data such as music and videos at much faster speeds. | The 4G auction will sell chunks of radio spectrum to support future mobile services, which will allow users to download data such as music and videos at much faster speeds. |
In 2000, the previous Labour government raised £22.5bn to help pay off the national debt with the proceeds of the 3G spectrum auction. | In 2000, the previous Labour government raised £22.5bn to help pay off the national debt with the proceeds of the 3G spectrum auction. |
The 4G auction could raise between £3bn and £4bn, according to social enterprise charity the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), although telecoms watchdog Ofcom has not confirmed that figure. | The 4G auction could raise between £3bn and £4bn, according to social enterprise charity the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), although telecoms watchdog Ofcom has not confirmed that figure. |
The shadow chancellor will defend his plan to review all public spending if Labour wins the next election, saying the country faces "tough choices" in the years ahead. | The shadow chancellor will defend his plan to review all public spending if Labour wins the next election, saying the country faces "tough choices" in the years ahead. |
'Growth first' | |
"The longer this government staggers on with a failing economic plan, the worse it will get and the harder the job will be. | |
"Hard times will last longer than all of us hoped. And we cannot promise to put everything right straight away. | "Hard times will last longer than all of us hoped. And we cannot promise to put everything right straight away. |
"Of course we'll make different choices - we'll do things in a fairer and more balanced way and put jobs and growth first," he will tell Labour activists. | "Of course we'll make different choices - we'll do things in a fairer and more balanced way and put jobs and growth first," he will tell Labour activists. |
But GMB union leader Paul Kenny turned his fire on the shadow chancellor on Sunday, saying: "He would give an aspirin a headache, wouldn't he?" | |
In a speech to delegates on Monday, Mr Kenny will say Labour must go into the next election with a leadership the public can connect with, not those "damaged or dented by past mistakes which have not been owned up to". | |
At a fringe meeting on Monday, he plans to read out a dossier of errors he will claim the shadow chancellor made when he was in government. | At a fringe meeting on Monday, he plans to read out a dossier of errors he will claim the shadow chancellor made when he was in government. |