Businesses in the UK are doing better than expected but this economy boost does not mean Labour should not raise taxes.
News outlets like the i are saying that growth of 0.6 per cent between April and June, on top of growth of 0.7 per cent between January and March means the UK is growing faster than any other nation in the G7 – the world’s top economies.
They are suggesting that there is now room for government spending that Rachel Reeves did not expect when she said the former (Tory) government had left a “black hole” in the nation’s finances.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
According to the i,
The more positive picture on GDP growth will give Rachel Reeves extra room to manoeuvre at the Budget, economists predicted, because it will boost expectations of future tax revenues from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The BBC has followed this lead with an article claiming that Labour’s electoral aim to get the highest growth in the G7 by the end of the new Parliament had already been achieved before it won the election.
This is demonstrable nonsense; there are five years to go before the new Parliament has to end, and a lot can happen in that time.
And the BBC article admits that,
during the election, Labour specified its “economic mission” was for the highest growth in consecutive years by the end of the Parliament.
So it is year-on-year growth that matters – not the situation at any single point in time.
The BBC goes on to repeat Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s stated intent to fill that fiscal “black hole” with cuts or savings when she announces her first Budget in October – with a tone of astonishment that she considers this necessary.
But the article also states that the economy’s growth will have slowed by October. This suggests that Reeves’s plans may be entirely reasonable, when they are unveiled.
Here’s the important part for you to remember: UK governments can always create money to support public spending; that is not the issue. The problem is that increasing the amount of money in the UK economy artificially – by wishing it into existence – creates the possibility of higher inflation. You end up paying more for less and that doesn’t help anybody. The answer is to remove money that is not being used – with taxation.
Reeves’s challenge is to give us all a chance to be better-off. At the moment she thinks she can do this with an economic plan that includes cuts to public spending and this is probably a mistake or a lie. It would be better to keep or improve public services and, for this to happen, the argument for higher taxation is very strong.
Oh – the Tories are saying that Labour always intended to raise taxes, and lied about it to voters during the election campaign.
This Writer is perfectly willing to accept the plausibility of this accusation. It doesn’t change anything, though.
And let’s be clear: Reeves has already promised not to raise the taxes that affect most of us; it will be those that are mostly levied on the rich that get the hike.
And call me biased if you like, but after 14 years in which the richest in society tripled their incomes – partly due to tax breaks from the Tories – I’ll be quite happy to see them getting squeezed for a change.
Source: Labour still planning tax rises despite economy boost
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This economy boost does NOT mean Labour should not raise taxes
Businesses in the UK are doing better than expected but this economy boost does not mean Labour should not raise taxes.
News outlets like the i are saying that growth of 0.6 per cent between April and June, on top of growth of 0.7 per cent between January and March means the UK is growing faster than any other nation in the G7 – the world’s top economies.
They are suggesting that there is now room for government spending that Rachel Reeves did not expect when she said the former (Tory) government had left a “black hole” in the nation’s finances.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
According to the i,
The BBC has followed this lead with an article claiming that Labour’s electoral aim to get the highest growth in the G7 by the end of the new Parliament had already been achieved before it won the election.
This is demonstrable nonsense; there are five years to go before the new Parliament has to end, and a lot can happen in that time.
And the BBC article admits that,
So it is year-on-year growth that matters – not the situation at any single point in time.
The BBC goes on to repeat Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s stated intent to fill that fiscal “black hole” with cuts or savings when she announces her first Budget in October – with a tone of astonishment that she considers this necessary.
But the article also states that the economy’s growth will have slowed by October. This suggests that Reeves’s plans may be entirely reasonable, when they are unveiled.
Here’s the important part for you to remember: UK governments can always create money to support public spending; that is not the issue. The problem is that increasing the amount of money in the UK economy artificially – by wishing it into existence – creates the possibility of higher inflation. You end up paying more for less and that doesn’t help anybody. The answer is to remove money that is not being used – with taxation.
Reeves’s challenge is to give us all a chance to be better-off. At the moment she thinks she can do this with an economic plan that includes cuts to public spending and this is probably a mistake or a lie. It would be better to keep or improve public services and, for this to happen, the argument for higher taxation is very strong.
Oh – the Tories are saying that Labour always intended to raise taxes, and lied about it to voters during the election campaign.
This Writer is perfectly willing to accept the plausibility of this accusation. It doesn’t change anything, though.
And let’s be clear: Reeves has already promised not to raise the taxes that affect most of us; it will be those that are mostly levied on the rich that get the hike.
And call me biased if you like, but after 14 years in which the richest in society tripled their incomes – partly due to tax breaks from the Tories – I’ll be quite happy to see them getting squeezed for a change.
Source: Labour still planning tax rises despite economy boost
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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