As Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer assures the public that “working people” have nothing to fear from Wednesday’s Budget, confusion has arisen over who exactly qualifies as a “working person.”
Labour has promised not to raise taxes on working people, but the term remains unclear, with care minister Stephen Kinnock recently dodging questions on whether those earning over £100,000 fall into that category.
The prime minister triggered a backlash by implying that landlords and those with shares may not be classified as working people. After public outcry, Downing Street clarified that individuals whose primary income comes from work — not investments — are still considered working people.
Meanwhile, health secretary Wes Streeting has said he considers himself a “working person,” despite earning £160,000 annually, and suggested that the government’s decisions are primarily focused on those with low and middle incomes.
He told Sky News: “In our manifesto we were very clear about the steps we were going to take to protect working people, which was ruling out increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT, and despite all the pressures that we are under and the scale of the black hole in the public finances, we will honour every single one of those commitments.
“Just on this ‘working person point’, I think what we mean is when we’re making decisions, especially in the context of a Budget, who do we have in our mind’s eye?”
As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, we want to hear your views. How should “working people” be defined? Should high earners or those with investments be included? And how should this affect decisions in the upcoming Budget?
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