David Lammy has joined other major Labour figures in expressing admiration for Margaret Thatcher, sparking fury from the left wing.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary described the former Conservative prime minister as a "visionary leader for the UK".
This came after Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves used a speech last night to channel Thatcher, saying Britain needs a "decade of national renewal".
Giving the Mais lecture, Reeves said: "As we did at the end of the 1970s, we stand at an inflection point, and as in earlier decades, the solution lies in wide-ranging supply-side reform to drive investment, remove the blockages constraining our productive capacity, and fashion a new economic settlement, drawing on evolutions in economic thought. A new chapter in Britain's economic history."
David Lammy has joined other major Labour figures in expressing admiration for Margaret Thatcher, sparking fury from the left wing
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Unlike Thatcher's boom in the 1980s, Reeves said Labour's plan for growth would be "broad-based, inclusive and resilient".
However, the remarks still sparked fury from the left wing.
Jeremy Corbyn's former speechwriter blasted Reeves for the speech, claiming that "large parts of the country have not recovered" from Thatcher's time in office.
He wrote on X: "Reeves vows an economic take-off similar to the Thatcher years. Let’s hope not.
"Thatcher came in and, in 1980-1, plunged the country into the sharpest, deepest recession since the war to that time, shutting down swathes of industry."
Former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, a sitting MSP, accused Reeves of "rewriting history".
The still-serving MSP fumed: "In the 1980s manufacturing was butchered, factory after factory closed, privatisation was let rip, unemployment rocketed, profits boomed, the wage share fell, the rich got richer, and inequality soared".
“No rewriting of history. Thatcher didn’t renew the economy, she broke it”.
Asked about Reeves' remarks by Politico, Lammy said they were "very apposite", adding: "You can take issue with Mrs Thatcher’s prescription, but she had a big manifesto for change and set about a course that lasted for over two decades".
Last year, Sir Keir Starmer praised Thatcher for having "set loose our natural entrepreneurialism" during her time as prime minister.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he added: "Across Britain, there are people who feel disillusioned, frustrated, angry, worried. Many of them have always voted Conservative but feel that their party has left them.
"I understand that. I saw that with my own party and acted to fix it. But I also understand that many will still be uncertain about Labour. I ask them to take a look at us again."
Asked about Reeves' remarks by Politico, Lammy said they were "very apposite"
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Reeves' speech last night saw her promise the Labour Party would bring about a "new chapter in Britain's economic history".
The Shadow Chancellor said: "I remain an optimist about our ability to rise to the challenges we face.
"What is demanded is a fundamental course correction. The stakes have rarely been higher."
But Unite, the party's second biggest financial backer, said Reeves' plan is "for the birds".
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Labour needs to be focused on delivering good jobs, public services and dignity in retirement, not more rhetoric about abstract economic concepts, like GDP growth.”
“If you stick to phoney fiscal rules, rule out taxing the wealthy and pander to the profiteers, you end up in a straightjacket of your own making.
“Ripping up building regulations and tinkering in the public sector is not going to deliver serious growth – that’s for the birds. Only sustained long-term public investment in our crumbling infrastructure can turn the tide on decline.
“It’s time Labour came up with a plan for the real economy rather than the big business lobby.”
