What a disappointment: last-minute benefit cuts are looming because the Chancellor can’t do her sums.
Or so we’re being told.
It’s only a couple of days since the scaremongers told us Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had offered to axe universal free school meals for infant school pupils – on which some pundits claimed the politicians may have been suggesting a particularly nasty cut in order to make what was actually to come seem more palatable.
Now we know the wind is blowing the other way. We’re going to get something worse.
And here’s what is really hard to swallow: Rachel Reeves [pictured] probably had the extra cuts in mind all along.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It seems highly unlikely that, after the Office for Budgetary Responsibility told her she would not make her £5 billion saving on sickness and disability benefits with the cuts that have already been announced, she just magicked up £1.4 billion more.
Given what was said about the Phillipson suggestion, I think Reeves had these cuts planned before the OBR said the cuts announced last week by Liz Kendall would only bring in £3.4 billion.
This makes sense because the Kendall cuts had already upset Labour’s own MPs. The situation today smacks of pacing; Labour’s leaders have delayed revealing the true depth of the damage they are planning in a bid to avoid a full-scale rebellion.
As a member of the public, I am now looking at Reeves, Kendall, Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and all the other gremlins in the government in terms of what they have been doing, rather than what they say – because it is clear that their words have no credibility at all.
Labour swept in on a landslide (albeit fuelled by the lowest election turnout ever, as a proportion of the electorate) in which the promise was “Change” for the better.
Instead, the vast majority of us have had nothing but cuts, while the rich and powerful have enjoyed more tax breaks and preferential treatment.
It seems clear that while we were promised a Labour government, we got nothing more than Continuity Tories.
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Last-minute benefit cuts are looming because the Chancellor can’t do her sums
What a disappointment: last-minute benefit cuts are looming because the Chancellor can’t do her sums.
Or so we’re being told.
It’s only a couple of days since the scaremongers told us Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had offered to axe universal free school meals for infant school pupils – on which some pundits claimed the politicians may have been suggesting a particularly nasty cut in order to make what was actually to come seem more palatable.
Now we know the wind is blowing the other way. We’re going to get something worse.
And here’s what is really hard to swallow: Rachel Reeves [pictured] probably had the extra cuts in mind all along.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It seems highly unlikely that, after the Office for Budgetary Responsibility told her she would not make her £5 billion saving on sickness and disability benefits with the cuts that have already been announced, she just magicked up £1.4 billion more.
Given what was said about the Phillipson suggestion, I think Reeves had these cuts planned before the OBR said the cuts announced last week by Liz Kendall would only bring in £3.4 billion.
This makes sense because the Kendall cuts had already upset Labour’s own MPs. The situation today smacks of pacing; Labour’s leaders have delayed revealing the true depth of the damage they are planning in a bid to avoid a full-scale rebellion.
As a member of the public, I am now looking at Reeves, Kendall, Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and all the other gremlins in the government in terms of what they have been doing, rather than what they say – because it is clear that their words have no credibility at all.
Labour swept in on a landslide (albeit fuelled by the lowest election turnout ever, as a proportion of the electorate) in which the promise was “Change” for the better.
Instead, the vast majority of us have had nothing but cuts, while the rich and powerful have enjoyed more tax breaks and preferential treatment.
It seems clear that while we were promised a Labour government, we got nothing more than Continuity Tories.
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) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
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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