Holding Labour to its own standards
WHEN a Government freezes income tax thresholds, it “picks the pockets” of working people.
We’ve got no argument with that assessment — in fact this paper repeatedly dragged the Tories over the coals for just such a policy.
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But these were not our words. They were said last November by none other than Rachel Reeves, now Chancellor.
In ten days, she is apparently planning to do exactly the same thing as part of one of the most tax-grabbing Budgets in history.
And that’s not all.
Sun readers are facing a kick in the teeth with a 7p-a-litre increase in fuel duty, hitting thousands of small businesses and millions of struggling families.
While strangling employers with new red tape, the Government also plans to hike their National Insurance contributions.
Business leaders warn all this risks a devastating impact on jobs.
If Labour thought less than a year ago that the Tories were picking pockets, why are they doing the same thing now?
The astonishing thing is that the Government is pitching this as a budget for growth.
Few business leaders or economic experts share that optimism.
If the new Government is not careful the only things likely to grow are the UK’s debts and workers’ overdrafts.
Labour still insists it is on the side of the workers. The October 30 Budget will be the acid test.
Change prescribed
ONE area certain to get a multi-billion-pound cash boost in the Budget is Britain’s struggling health service.
But it is vital that not a penny of this bounty is wasted. So it is good to hear Health Secretary Wes Streeting ruling out more blank cheques for the NHS.
He wants all investment tied to root and branch reforms.
The case for building 40 new hospitals — announced by the Tories but paused by Labour — is overwhelming and must go ahead.
Also welcome is the roll-out of new digital “patient passports” so medical records and test results can be accessed more speedily.
And new neighbourhood health centres where doctors, physios and dentists can work together should also improve efficiency.
But the Government must also slash the NHS’s bloated bureaucracy and pen-pushing middle-management.
All those savings must be ploughed back into frontline services.
We’ll be watching you, Wes.
