Rachel Reeves isn’t just disappointed — she’s angry. The Chancellor stood up at the Despatch Box yesterday and accused the last Conservative government of a cover-up, spending money it did not have and leaving it to her to clean up.
To some extent, Reeves has a point. The £9 billion contingency pot appears to have been spent several times over. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, acknowledges that overspending on the asylum system was not provided for. The Office for Budget Responsibility has launched a review of what it was told by the Treasury prior to the March Budget. Yet all of this can be true and at the same time, we ought not to be wholly credulous. From public sector pay to prisons, Reeves knew what she would be inheriting.
This makes Labour’s election campaign — in which the party repeatedly refused to entertain practically any possible tax rises except for those on private schools — all the more remarkable. And now, Reeves has rolled the pitch for tax hikes in the autumn. The Chancellor reiterated that these would not fall on “working people”, and that income tax, national insurance and VAT would remain unchanged. In other words, a raid on the rich is likely.
It is right that the better off pay their fair share. But any attempt to hammer wealth creators further threatens not only to cut across Labour’s stated desire to make Britain open for business, but also its overarching aim of boosting economic growth.
Moreover, Labour’s generous offer to striking junior doctors may be politically expedient and economically necessary, but it also sets a high bar for all future negotiations. The money must come from somewhere, and taxpayers will have to wait until October 30 to find out.
Khan’s lookalike legacy
Forget the historic third term, Sadiq Khan has secured true immortalisation with a waxwork set to go on display at Madame Tussauds. The Mayor has also secured bragging rights over the Prime Minister, as the only Labour politician to have a spot at the iconic London attraction.
The model itself was created prior to this year’s mayoral election, though it seems improbable that it was ever going to be melted down and turned into Susan Hall.
Shorts shrift
The mercury has breached the 30-degree barrier and the men — well, some men — have come to work in shorts. It is perhaps the aesthetic issue of the day. The deciding factor for many will be not the length or cut, but rather the quality of the legs below. Still, hot summer days are no excuse for sandals. Some residual decorum is still expected.
