The motion, passed at the Labour Party conference, calls for a wealth tax to fund investment in public services.
It also demands the reversal of austerity, a commitment to progressive taxation, and expanded collective rights for workers.
The motion was submitted by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Unite, the Communication Workers Union (CWU), and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA).
Steve Wright, general secretary of the FBU, said: “Workers in Britain are paying the price for a broken economic model.
“While millions suffer with the soaring cost of living and shrinking wages, the ultra-rich continue to reap the benefits of a rigged system that rewards wealth, not work.
“Meanwhile, public services are on the brink of collapse without the investment desperately needed after fifteen years of austerity.
“The fire and rescue service is in a state of emergency, with the loss of one in five firefighters to cuts since 2010.
“We need an immediate increase of 5,000 firefighters to begin addressing this crisis in public safety.
“The Government must act decisively by introducing a progressive wealth tax to rebuild public services, create jobs, and support struggling households.”
In addition, the motion calls for a freeze on the energy price cap for “at least 12 months to prevent further hardship”.
Delegates passed the public spending motion by a show of hands during the conference.
Chancellor on potential tax rises
Rachel Reeves hinted at tax rises in the Budget but insisted Labour’s manifesto commitment “stands” on VAT rules as she unveiled plans to guarantee work for long-term unemployed youth.
The Chancellor said the “world has changed” since last year when she told business chiefs the Government would not be coming back for “more taxes” after raising around £40 billion in November.
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Speaking to broadcasters from Labour’s annual conference, Ms Reeves warned the UK was not “immune” to increased global borrowing and tougher trade barriers stemming from US tariffs.
She acknowledged there was “more to do” but said she was “proud” of the Government’s economic record a year into office, pointing to its most recent pledge to guarantee work for long-term unemployed young people.
During the media round, the Chancellor:
- Said she was “determined not to increase those key taxes that working people pay” and said “the manifesto stands” when asked to rule out a hike in VAT in the Budget. Labour’s election document promised not to increase the tax.
- Promised to stamp out the “scourge” of long-term unemployment among young people with a plan to guarantee jobs for those out of work and receiving universal credit for 18 months. She warned claimants would face losing their benefits if they refused the offer.
- Echoed Sir Keir Starmer’s criticism of Reform UK’s immigration policy as “racist,” but said “you can support the Reform party and not be racist”.
- Insisted the Government “will reduce child poverty, but we’ve also got to make sure the numbers add up” in a sign the two-child benefit cap could be lifted.
- Said she was “genuinely loving this job” while acknowledging there had been “difficult days – some of them very public” as Chancellor.
Ms Reeves is preparing to deliver a potentially difficult Budget on November 26, which economists have warned will require significant tax rises or spending cuts as she battles to meet her self-imposed borrowing rules.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she declined to repeat her promise to the Confederation of British Industry last year that the Government will not be coming back with “more borrowing or more taxes”.
“I think everyone can see in the last year that the world has changed, and we’re not immune to that change,” she said.
“Whether it is wars in Europe and the Middle East, whether it is increased barriers to trade because of tariffs coming from the United States, whether it is the global cost of borrowing, we’re not immune to any of those things.
“It’s very important that we maintain those commitments to economic stability because we rely on people to buy Government debt to be able to finance the things that we’re doing as a country. I wish it wasn’t so, but I am Chancellor in the world as it is, not the world that I might wish it to be.”
