In turn, Reeves accuses Hunt of lying. It’s probably worth mentioning that Reeves wouldn’t really have wanted to cut the pensioners’ winter fuel allowance, a deeply unpopular move with a key electoral demographic, just for lol, but in any event she’s now conceded that tax rises, ie over and above the specifics in the Labour manifesto, are coming: “I think that we will have to increase taxes in the Budget.” Given the overall tax “burden” on the economy is at a 70-year high, Reeves will have to look at her options...
How much does she need to raise?
It’s complicated, and we won’t know for sure until the Budget. Taking the £22bn “black hole” at face value, some of it comes from one-off unfunded spending, such as the Rwanda plan, but other elements, notably the bumper pay rise for doctors, are an annual, permanent feature of the public finances. In her spending audit, Reeves identified some £5.5bn of immediate “in-year” savings; more might be found, such as “efficiency savings”.
But that still leaves more than, say, £15bn to be found. And that, of course, doesn’t take into account other contingencies, such as paying compensation for the infected blood scandal, the collapse of Thames Water, the bankruptcies of universities and local authorities, and preparations for the next pandemic and European war. So, yes, who’d want to be chancellor of the Exchequer?
What won’t she do?
この記事は The Independent の August 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は The Independent の August 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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