Labour is paving the way for more tax hikes in the October Budget. By talking absolute rubbish.
John Healey claims he (Image: Getty)
Worse, it’s recycled rubbish. Complete nonsense we’ve been force-fed before. Even worse than thatl, it’s Rachel Reeves’s recycled rubbish. Claims that smelled off the first time she tried to dupe us with them, and stink even worse today. I hoped new chancellor John Healey would know better, but apparently not. And he’s making these whiffy claims for the same reason Reeves did: to justify the barrage of taxes heading our way.
A month before Labour won the July 2024 election, Reeves said: “We don’t need higher taxes, what we need is growth.” Straight after winning it, she assumed a look of phoney outrage and claimed the UK economy was in a worse state than she realised. Apparently, she’d discovered a £22billion black hole left by the previous Conservative government that nobody even knew was there, not even her.
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It was complete garbage. The strategy was planned before the election and everybody knew it. A shameless attempt to lay the ground for tax rises she didn’t have the courage to tell us about during the election. Reeves’s dishonesty was savaged by independent experts, notably Paul Johnson at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. As he pointed out: “The £22billion ‘black hole’ was obvious to anyone who dared to look.” But Reeves pretended she hadn’t.
That black hole referred to unfunded government spending commitments. Reeves used it to justify a brutal £40billion tax raid in her maiden Budget, followed by another £26billion in her second. The result? Consumers stopped spending, businesses stopped investing, unemployment climbed and we now have a new PM and chancellor.
Incredibly, Healey now appears to be following the Reeves playbook. Hasn’t he learned from her mistakes? He’s repeatedly said that he wants to stamp down on pre-Budget speculation, but now Labour insiders are softening us up for what’s coming. This morning, one briefed the Financial Times that the chancellor “didn’t know” quite how bad things were inside the Treasury before entering Number 11. Which reeks. It really does.
How could Healey not know? Doesn’t he read the newspapers? Didn’t he have a passing knowledge of our £3trillion national debt, the £130billion set to be added to it this year, and the fact that rising inflation caused by the Iran war is set to make everything worse? If not, what’s he doing in politics? And what on earth is he doing in the Treasury?
Either he’s either lying to us and he did know. Or he’s telling the truth and he’s in the wrong job. Or he thinks we’re stupid and will swallow anything. My guess is it’s both one and three. He’s telling porkies, and he thinks enough of us will swallow them to make it worthwhile.
Rachel Reeves thought that was a clever strategy. It didn’t end well for her. I can’t see this ending well for Healey either. Because voters aren’t stupid. Not enough of them, anyway.
Andy Burnham ‘well capable’ of defeating Nigel Farage with Labour majority, TUC chief says.TA
Andy Burnham ‘well capable’ of defeating Nigel Farage with Labour majority, TUC chief says
Andy Burnham is “well capable” of defeating Nigel Farage and securing a majority for Labour at the next general election, Paul Nowak has insisted.
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His intervention follows Reform UK’s disastrous conference and a slump in the polls for the right-wing party after a series of scandals over donations. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary told the Mirror: “I think the more that the public see of Nigel Farage, the less they like him.”
He added: “If you listen to Nigel Farage and Richard Tice and all the rest of them, it’s like a foregone conclusion that they’ve got the keys to Downing Street. I don’t think that that is the case. I think Andy is well capable of beating Nigel Farage at the next election.
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“If it’s a choice between a Prime Minister offering a vision of hope that’s focused on the issues that actually matter to working people, rather than scaremongering and creating division, then I think he’s absolutely got a chance of leading Labour into the next election and securing a majority.”
The TUC boss also dismissed speculation of a snap general election – despite clear evidence of a ‘Burnham bounce’ in the national polls. He said: “I don’t get the sense that the public is crying out for a general election anytime soon. I mean, that’s obviously a decision to be taken by the Prime Minister.
“I think people are more focused on: ‘Let’s see what you can do and deliver the change that we voted for back in July 2024.’ Not voting again, let’s deliver the change you promised.”
But he highlighted Labour’s recent victories over Mr Farage’s Reform UK at the ballot box, including Mr Burnham’s own Westminster comeback at June’s Makerfield by-election.
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The following month Labour also emerged victorious at the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election, with Bev Craig’s decisive win in the region over Reform who had hoped for a major political upset.
Mr Nowak said: “I think what’s clear is that we have seen a Burnham bounce in the polls. I’m not complacent about that.
“I am still worried about Reform and their impact on British politics. But I think the public are giving him a hearing, and he’s starting to… those breathing space policies, I think, are ones that people will feel in their pockets.”
Andy Burnham ‘well capable’ of defeating Nigel Farage with Labour majority, TUC chief says
Andy Burnham is “well capable” of defeating Nigel Farage and securing a majority for Labour at the next general election, Paul Nowak has insisted.
Article continues below
His intervention follows Reform UK’s disastrous conference and a slump in the polls for the right-wing party after a series of scandals over donations. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary told the Mirror: “I think the more that the public see of Nigel Farage, the less they like him.”
He added: “If you listen to Nigel Farage and Richard Tice and all the rest of them, it’s like a foregone conclusion that they’ve got the keys to Downing Street. I don’t think that that is the case. I think Andy is well capable of beating Nigel Farage at the next election.
Article continues below
“If it’s a choice between a Prime Minister offering a vision of hope that’s focused on the issues that actually matter to working people, rather than scaremongering and creating division, then I think he’s absolutely got a chance of leading Labour into the next election and securing a majority.”
The TUC boss also dismissed speculation of a snap general election – despite clear evidence of a ‘Burnham bounce’ in the national polls. He said: “I don’t get the sense that the public is crying out for a general election anytime soon. I mean, that’s obviously a decision to be taken by the Prime Minister.
“I think people are more focused on: ‘Let’s see what you can do and deliver the change that we voted for back in July 2024.’ Not voting again, let’s deliver the change you promised.”
But he highlighted Labour’s recent victories over Mr Farage’s Reform UK at the ballot box, including Mr Burnham’s own Westminster comeback at June’s Makerfield by-election.
Article continues below
The following month Labour also emerged victorious at the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election, with Bev Craig’s decisive win in the region over Reform who had hoped for a major political upset.
Mr Nowak said: “I think what’s clear is that we have seen a Burnham bounce in the polls. I’m not complacent about that.
“I am still worried about Reform and their impact on British politics. But I think the public are giving him a hearing, and he’s starting to… those breathing space policies, I think, are ones that people will feel in their pockets.”
Nigel Farage loses it at Archbishop of Canterbury after row over award to Muslim cleric
The Reform UK leader hit out at the Archbishop of Canterbury over the furore.
Nigel Farage erupted at the Archbishop of Canterbury in a row over her giving an award to a Muslim cleric who praised Osama bin Laden. Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi received the honour for reconciliation and interfaith cooperation last week on the anniversary of 9/11.