Kemi Badenoch blasts Keir Starmer's 'class war'

Kemi Badenoch blasts Keir Starmer’s ‘class war’ amid reports Labour could force public bodies to make decisions that would penalise middle-class areas in favour of poorer neighbourhoods

• Labour’s manifesto could include plans to force spending  favour of poorer areas
• Rees-Mogg has branded the move ‘a declaration of war on Middle Britain’

Sir Keir Starmer came in for fresh criticism last night over controversial plans branded ‘class war’ by the Tories.

Cabinet Minister Kemi Badenoch tore into Labour for aiming to inflict a massive programme of ‘social and economic engineering’ on the country.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last week how Labour’s general election manifesto could include radical plans to force public bodies to make spending and other decisions that could penalise middle-class areas in favour of poorer neighbourhoods.

The controversial idea – which raised fears of fewer bin collections, closures of libraries and hikes in council tax in richer areas to the benefit of poorer communities – was put forward by the last Labour government in the 2010 Equality Act but then blocked by the Tories when they gained power.

Senior Tory Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has branded the move ‘a declaration of war on Middle Britain’.

Cabinet Minister Kemi Badenoch tore into Labour for aiming to inflict a massive programme of ‘social and economic engineering’ on the country

Sir Keir Starmer came in for fresh criticism last night over controversial plans branded ‘class war’ by the Tories 

And last night, Kemi Badenoch – Minister for Women and Equalities – explained why Tory Ministers had not implemented the controversial Section One of the Equality Act.

Mrs Badenoch told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Successive governments have determined that the socio-economic duty would be a massive unnecessary regulatory burden or, as one commentator memorably called it, ‘socialism in one clause’.

‘It shows Labour’s desperation for ideas that they’re even considering implementing this duty.

‘The Equality Act is about protecting rights and freedoms, not social and economic engineering.’

Separately, there are also fears that Labour’s plan would lead to ‘endless’ court battles as people would get the right to take public bodies’ spending decisions to judicial review.

One government source said: ‘the socio-economic duty would fuel endless judicial reviews.

‘were it to be commenced, it would open up the potential for new legal challenges across multiple policies, including the Budget.’

Yesterday, Kevin Bentley, leader of Tory-run Essex County Council, said: ‘What Labour is considering is not only mindless, meddling bureaucracy – it’s also completely unnecessary.’

However, one Left-wing Labour MP privately suggested that implementing the dormant part of the Equality Act, which would require public bodies to have ‘due regard’ to reducing ‘the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage’, was exactly what a Starmer government should do.

Labour did not deny last week that the plan was under consideration but added: ‘These documents are draft, internal documents subject to deliberation and amendment, and not a final statement of Party policy.

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