A braver Labour would call an end to the focus on growth |

Dr Ian Saville and Ben Norman respond to an article by Frances Ryan on Labour’s plans on tax and wealth creation

Frances Ryan describes the situation very well (There is no ‘change’ for Britain without a massive injection of cash. Why won’t our politicians admit it?, 7 June). The decision by Rachel Reeves to work within the Conservative tax framework, apart from small changes that can only raise inadequate amounts, must condemn a Labour administration to pernicious austerity. The obvious remedy for this is a modest wealth tax, raising enough to improve public services considerably.

More significantly, Reeves, like her Conservative counterpart, relies on the dream of growth to pay for the improvements we all desire. But the commonplace insistence on the need for growth must be challenged. Economists like Kate Raworth and Kohei Saito have argued persuasively that the continuing pursuit of growth on a finite planet must lead inevitably to environmental destruction and widening inequality.