Andy Burnham is set to unveil his 10-year strategy for the nation's future before Christmas, amid claims from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch that the prime minister lacks a clear direction for Britain.
The upcoming blueprint will offer further specifics regarding a national care service, with Mr Burnham stating the document would "lay a new path" for the country while seeking to "break with the failed policies of the party opposite".
However, Mrs Badenoch launched a critique of the administration, describing his government as "adrift" and arguing that Labour had left the UK in "limbo".
She challenged the prime minister over internal discontent among Labour MPs regarding his plans for the next decade, following reports published in the Guardian.
These concerns include warnings from Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen), leader of the Labour reindustrialisation research group, who warned that reindustrialisation ambitions may fail to materialise.
Meanwhile, group colleague Jonathan Hinder (Pendle and Clitheroe) told the publication that "pretty drastic action" was required.
It has also emerged that the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is advising on the strategy.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs Badenoch said: “Is it really true he has so little vision for this country he needs the Boston Consulting Group to write it for him?”
The prime minister told her: “I did walk up Downing Street promising a 10-year plan for this country because I am determined to give this country the stability that they failed to provide.
“I am determined to give the leadership that this country needs and I can say to her, we will present our plan for Britain to this House before it rises for the Christmas recess.”
He had previously suggested the plan could be pushed back until January.
Downing Street confirmed that one consultant from BCG was working on the plan but would not be drawn on whether other organisations had also been asked to provide expertise.
Mrs Badenoch derided apparent plans to merge the DVLA and DVSA in the decade-long vision and said: “I’m not surprised he’s asked management consultants to help him write his 10-year plan. He needs all the help that he can get.”
She added: “This government is totally adrift.
“They need consultants to tell them what to think. They need civil servants to tell them what to do. So, we are left with a do-nothing budget, a spending review delayed, a 10-year plan outsourced.
“Meanwhile, the whole country is in limbo. Labour MPs want to pretend that Keir Starmer simply walked off into the sunset, when in reality this man knifed him in the back and now doesn’t know what to do.
“Isn’t it the truth that they’re all sat there shaking their heads and wondering whether it was all worth it?”
Mr Burnham replied: “I have told her today what I am doing. Whether she was listening or not, people at home will have heard that I am bringing forward a national care service when they ignored social care for years and years.
“I am acting to get people’s energy bills down when they didn’t do it. I listen to her when she talks at the despatch box as though they’ve got everything right.
“A quarter of a million young people became Neet between 2021 and 2024 when she was in the cabinet. The welfare bill rose by £33 billion in her last year in office when she was in the cabinet.
“When is she going to come to this House with real proposals to address those things rather than repeating more of the same?
“She will see our plan for Britain next month presented to this House, it will lay a new path for this country, breaking with the failed policies of the party opposite, it will lay a path for this country to go forward.”
Mrs Badenoch also asked whether the government will approve drilling at the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea.
She said it was “ludicrous” that ministers were stopping drilling off the coast of Scotland, but supporting it near the Falkland Islands.
The Cop31 climate summit began on Monday in Antalya, Turkey.
Mr Burnham reeled off Labour’s plans to bring bills down, including removing standing charges off gas bills and delinking gas and electricity prices.
He added: “We have just recently approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, something that she failed to do when she was in government, and we are using the proceeds through the Energy Wealth Fund, created by the Chancellor, to accelerate the delivery of renewables.”
Asked about Mr Burnham’s plan for the next decade, the prime minister’s press secretary told reporters: “The government is committed to delivering an ambitious, incredible 10-year plan, drawing on the best expertise available both inside and outside government.
“Any external support is limited, short-term, and focused on specific specialist advice.”
Downing Street would not comment on other firms involved in the plan and said the government remained committed to reducing overall spending on consultants.
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