During the election campaign, Labour promised to restore honesty and integrity to our politics.
By pretending the dire condition of Britain’s finances have come as some sort of shock to her, Rachel Reeves is doing the exact opposite.
The Chancellor insists she hadn’t realised how bad things were until she arrived at the Treasury. Since then, she has supposedly discovered a black hole of some £20 billion.
Yet, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson points out, her claim to be surprised is simply not credible.
The historical excuse of an incoming chancellor – that the books could be scrutinised only once in Downing Street – no longer washes.
Not adding up: If Rachel Reeves was flabbergasted by what she found after becoming chancellor, she’s either guilty of extreme negligence or being dishonest
On Monday, Labour will use a doom-laden audit of spending to blame the Tories for leaving the NHS, welfare, prisons, defence and the rest woefully underfunded
Public finances are not a state secret. Anyone can go online to pore over a government’s income and outgoings.
If Ms Reeves was flabbergasted by what she found, she’s either guilty of extreme negligence or being dishonest.
On Monday, Labour will use a doom-laden audit of spending to blame the Tories for leaving the NHS, welfare, prisons, defence and the rest woefully underfunded. But this is artifice.
The bleak assessment is being used as cover by the Chancellor to pave the way for some very painful tax hikes.
It’s increasingly clear these were planned long before the election. Yet Sir Keir Starmer duplicitously chose not to share that information with us in the manifesto, which he claimed was fully costed.
Ms Reeves wants to raise money so she can lavish cash on the public sector. She is set to sanction inflation-busting wage rises for teachers and NHS staff, estimated to cost £8 billion.
Having ruled out borrowing and spending cuts, Labour will resort to the age-old socialist tactic: Dipping their hands in other people’s pockets.
To rake in revenue, Ms Reeves could raid pensions, capital gains, wealth or inheritance. Yet the old politics of envy could have unintended consequences.
Growth is the Government’s stated priority, yet massive tax hikes act as a drag on the economy.
As Winston Churchill observed: ‘For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.’
Yes, deep-rooted problems exist in public services. But chucking billions at them and collectively crossing our fingers won’t work. Radical reform is urgently needed.
Ms Reeves isn’t the only minister to have apparently been blindsided by the state of Britain.
The Justice Secretary was shocked by the jails crisis, the Health Secretary by the NHS watchdog’s poor performance, and the Home Secretary by the cost of Rwanda.
Either Labour has been living in a parallel universe or it’s taking us for fools. The Mail thinks we all know which.
Keir’s Israel U-turn
Sir Keir’s decision to drop Britain’s objections to the International Criminal Court’s application for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu is both depressing and misguided.
By sitting on the fence, Labour’s leader draws a moral equivalence between Hamas, a terror group, and Israel’s elected prime minister, whose war in Gaza aims to stop a repeat of the October 7 massacre.
Sir Keir’s decision to drop Britain’s objections to the International Criminal Court’s application for an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu is both depressing and misguided
Yet Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East. This decision, and reports Labour may end arms exports to Tel Aviv, will inevitably damage relations, undermine security and give succour to terrorists.
Sir Keir initially supported Israel’s right to self-defence. Now, to placate Muslim voters, he is changing his tune. So much for putting country before political self-interest.