Labour deny plan to ‘buy, make and sell’ UK goods would mean offering contracts to firms with Union Jack on their website

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has denied her plan to “buy, make and sell” more British goods in the UK would involve leaning on companies to offer contracts to British firms purely because they have a Union flag on their website.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, she said: “You can look at the plans of the businesses bidding for that contract to see what impact it would have on the wider UK economy, what strategic value a bid has.”

Ms Reeves continued: “If it is creating jobs in this country – high skilled well paid jobs and apprenticeships – and that means that we’re building up that skill set so we can export around the world, those bids, should get more weight than bids that are creating no jobs, no skills and no investment in this country.”

She insisted that the policy was not about excluding foreign companies from competing in Britain, adding: “Like in France and like in the United States, we would take into account the social impact of any public procurement.”

The shadow chancellor added: “It wouldn’t be me a chancellor leaning on public bodies to award contracts, what it is about is changing the procurement framework, so you can take into account labour standards, job creation in this country and environmental standards as well.”

Social care system

Meanwhile, while speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, she also said Labour wants to see “a publicly funded, needs-based social care system,” and is prepared “to have difficult conversations” about how it will be paid for.

She said: “I have been in my job for two months and it is high on my list of things that have got to be sorted and explained ahead of the next election.”

Ms Reeves continued: “When Boris Johnson became Prime Minister he said that we have a plan for social care that is already prepared. Well where is it?

“The people of this country, people in social care have been so badly treated by this Government over the last year and they are owed something better than what this Government have delivered.”

Ms Reeves blamed Labour’s failure to produce a proper plan for social care while in Government on the Conservatives’ decision to walk out on cross-party talks.

“Talks have never restarted in the 11 years since the Conservatives took office that shows, I think, the neglect and the failure under this Conservative Government,” she said.