Is the Chancellor about to crash the economy?

I’ve lived under every left wing government since Wilson’s and it’s utter nonsense.

Because whoever does it will never be re elected.

Fortunately the people running the country realise that this would result in a break down of civilised society.
Any deadwood went a long time ago.

I don't want to see sick and disabled people living on the streets if they dont have family to take them in.

Easily, when one has more experience of living under a left wing government.

I am no politician and this is a pipe dream but I wish that the economy could be scrutinised by a team of experts (non political) who could get it up and running again and give people hope. We seem to go from one disaster to another with neither political parties doing a decent job. So many in our country are beginning to lose hope which is so sad.

Not just the economy, they try to inflict their extreme dogma on all aspects of life. The reason there is so much difficulty in schools is because people like Baker, Gove etc tried to reverse the free-for-all philosophy of the 60s and 70s and they have gone too far! For example the lack of teaching the basics like spelling, grammar etc. has led to some of the hideous parts of SPAG which in some cases are new even to those with good grammar!

Exactly. The Tories had 14 years to do all that - which amounts to austerity on steroids. After all if they’d done it and it worked they’d definitely have got reelected ad infinitum wouldn’t they?

If this could be done why hasn’t it been done already?

Perhaps you’re thinking of Liz Truss?

We're in a bit of a pickle.

Wages are too low for millions of people, who need to be subsidised via UC.

Benefits spending is too high and is bankrupting the country.

Those people on UC either need to accept a lower standard of living or wages need to rise, so that UC is unnecessary.

If wages rise, it will result in job losses and inflation.

Inflation is needed to reduce the government debt relative to GDP, but Rachel from Customer Complaints raised taxes without balancing the books, so we still need to borrow more money. The markets are demanding higher interest rates, so it's creating a doom loop.

The only realistic way out of this problem is a slash and burn approach to public spending:

* UC massively reduced, long term unemployed having their benefits stopped to force them to look for work.

* PIP and DLA removed from all but the most seriously disabled and not available for invisible conditions.

* Civil Service reduced by 10% a year, every year, across all departments - there must be huge numbers of dead wood that can be trimmed with zero impact to output.

* Public Sector pay reduced in real terms via pay freezes and below inflation pay rises.

Personally, I think the government should place the full accounts in the public domain and crowd source suggestions for cuts. People outside the Civil Service will be able to identify huge savings that the Civil Service pretend don't exist.

Interest rates are not high. They are still below the historic average. They should go up, with any luck.

How do you type this nonsense with a straight face?

I agree with it being time to end browns bofe experiment. So much of what is wrong today can be traced back to origins during brown and Blair’s era.

More like the Bank of England is crashing the economy by keeping interest rates high. Gordon Brown made them independent of course - to reassure the City. Time to end that experiment and Take Back Control? Also time for a windfall tax on thieving energy suppliers. Tax empty properties too.

I feel Labour is doing its best. It has a terrible inheritance and I think its heart is in the right place. I believe its leaders genuinely want the best for the country.

I think the Chancellor is every bit as qualified as her predecessors, she has a PPE degree from Oxford and has worked as an actual economist and in a bank (albeit not super senior roles) those jobs don’t go to numpties.
The ‘Rachel from accounts’ trope and picking through RR’s CV for any issue is sexism at its finest. If a youngish woman rises to a senior post - she can’t have done it on her achievements alone!

However I am really concerned by the political naivety.
I do wonder if a lot of the decision-making on strategy is being done either by people who are very young or by people who have no or limited real world experience outside politics. The recommendations may be theoretically right but lack nuance or understanding of the concerns of ordinary working people. Is there a lack of intellectual agility and a rigid focus on ideology?

I absolutely don’t think Kemi or Reform are the answers though - I suspect they would be far worse and have even fewer answers or ideas.

I didn't think the NI increase was helpful given the growth agenda, Labour are pushing. Yet we're in a period of profound uncertainty. Ukraine rumbles on, chaos in the Middle East, the first felon is president elect, we passed the 1.5 degree co2 threshold this year FFS. To be honest I think this is the new 'normal' of global instability.

It might be annoying to be called a Tory bot by an anonymous person online (who could be of any political persuasion as you never know who people really are), but if you're not one, surely you'd just ignore it and engage with posters interested in debate?

It would be an incredibly extreme reaction to jump all the way over the Reform because a random on the Internet was mean.

Reform voters get bashed online all the time too, do they then jump over to Labour?

That’s interesting as of everyone I know, those working in public sector earn the least. Then charity. Then private, many of whom have annual bonuses and often international travel.

Who exactly are you referring to? Social worker team managers? Head teachers? Head of finances? Which workers are you suggesting are being paid more than private?

Austerity is referring to public spending. This isn’t the only spending the government do.

Spending will generally always increase as inflation does. You can’t spend less when the price of goods is increasing. That doesn’t mean they funded the right projects with the right funding. The effects of public funding cuts on vulnerable people has been immense and definitely not aimed at growth.

Labour has been in for a matter of months. You can’t change decades and decades of trajectories and debts in months.

Rookie error, they ALL promise a land of milk and honey!!

It just stokes division

Government departments really aren't cut to the bone. Just taking local governments the management structure is ridiculous. Lots earning greater amounts than they would in the private sector. Just have a look at thr published lists of wages over the reportable level. Lots of people with very specific high level roles that in thr private sector wouldn't exist.

Because it is part of the technique to shut down debate and undermine the other person's viewpoint. See it on here all time by Labour supporters prior, during and after the election. Any criticism of Labour was met with "Tory bot" as a way of shutting down discussion.
Also seen in Labour’s "far right" accusations again of anyone criticising them.

It just frustrates and angers people and that in turn makes them turn away from mainstream parties.

Did the Tory’s do any better? No is the answer, public services have got to shit thanks to Tory’s, disproportionately affecting the vulnerable.