Rachel Reeves can’t win, can she?

Its pretty clear that the only reason you & others don't like the comparison is because it shows Labour in a slightly better light than you'd like.

I wonder if you go through life never comparing what you had with what you have now?

How do you think inflation is calculated or any type of growth? or your current fav, the pub trade & job losses?

Its a simple comparison.

You ve now done it again, attributing something to me i never said, i never claimed highest growth, i said among the highest, another simple detail that you struggle with.

My post wasn’t about the performance of the last government. I was correcting a poster who keeps claiming growth is the highest in the G7.

But to answer your question, you set a benchmark and measure from there. Since Labour has been in power, unemployment has risen. Under the previous government, it was in decline.

How do you judge a new government’s performance without comparing it with the previous one?

Yes why would you make it worse with the NI policy?

Because that's always the stock answer "whatabout the Tories/Reform" etc. Always someone else to blame. It comes from the top of Labour every day so not surprising the minions then parrot it out too. It's Deflection 101.

Why do we keep talking about the last government? Last time I looked, they’re no longer in charge and no longer responsible for growth.

You said growth was the highest in the G7. I said that was overall growth, not growth per capita which is the figure that matters most.

And I don’t doubt that AI will have an impact on job losses, which is why the employer NICs increase was completely irresponsible.

Ah so we now move to a different set of figures, because they suit your pov or not.

What was growth per capita like under the last Government? for comparison purposes only, 2022 to 2024, it fell but has risen between 2024 to 2025.

& before you hit me with Labour are in power etc, how can we judge a Govt if you do not allow anything to judge them against?

On AI pulling pints, no of course not but it can do the pubs books, can be used by the brewery for stock and ordering, Pubs have been failing for many years because people have had less money to spend COL crisis and far cheaper booze from super markets, has NI increases helped? no of course not.

My partners company, defence, has halted recruitment in admin because they are unsure of what rolls will be replaced by AI.

Yes, I’m sure all the hospitality outlets are using AI to pull the pints…

Growth per capita is the lowest in the G7. The figures that the left use are overall growth therefore slightly misleading. Are you doing the same?

And UK inflation is now twice as high as the EU despite tracking it until a year ago.

Thoughts?

@Southernecho

Incidentally, growth was 0.7% in Q2 this year too, 0.4% in Q1, pretty much mirrors Conservative growth

I thought people voted for Labour to be better than the Conservatives, not the same?

I don’t disagree. It’s a challenging geopolitical climate.
Whilst I don’t agree with many of their decisions I think Reeves and Starmer would have been able to do better had they managed to garner more support from the wider party. Not pushing ahead with WFA and changes to welfare has made them look weak and lacking in conviction. The constant scandals haven’t helped either.
Im saying this as someone who is politically homeless right now, though accept my natural persuasion is probably right of centre!

I can agree with a lot of that, though i would add, as Lady Hallet said today, the Pandemic was v badly handled.

However, its a pity that many will never accept Labour also face these challenges, they haven't gone away, plus a whole heap of extra costs such as Defence and Tariffs.

It'll be an intresting budget and i hope she has learned from the debacle that was WFA

I didn't need too, as the pp showed that in his graph, so they gave us a recession but thats ok because we got 0.7% growth later on?

Incidentally, growth was 0.7% in Q2 this year too, 0.4% in Q1, pretty much mirrors Conservative growth but without the recession.

So by your own argument, Reeves has done well.

Employment has risen, doubtless due in part to her NI increases but its also to do with AI.
Everyone accepts it has and will have huge impacts, both positive and negative.

@Southernecho

You omitted to say that the 2023 recession was followed by growth before Labour won in July 2024.

From 2015 to Q3 2024, unemployment was declining. However, unemployment has hit its highest level in a decade after Labour made it more expensive for employers to employ people.

The reality is that a large degree of the economic pressure came from global inflation, rising energy prices (exacerbated by the war in Ukraine), and the aftermath of the pandemic. Sunak inherited a challenging economic situation and had limited ability to reverse these global forces in the short term.
He did, however, do a decent job towards the end of his tenure (IMO). I do agree though that there was lots about the conservative government that was a car crash!

We’re never all going to agree and every government have different challenges that they are presented with. What’s important is how RR balances the books (because your growth stats aside - there is a massive black hole getting ever bigger) now and puts us back on a firmer footing. Ideally, without taxes the middle classes into oblivion.

Party pressure.

So in the last 12months of Sunak, we had a recession, we haven't under Labour.

Its quite a simple thing to understand.

As are the G7 growth stats.

You always seem quite an angry poster, i wonder why.

This budget is going to be dreadful. Its a sure thing that the 2 child benefit cap is going to be removed costing billions! Just why?

Or to be on benefits - then you're cushty.

Exactly
"Labour, which knew the broad outline of these challenges, but refused to confront them in its manifesto and pre-election statements"

Reeves knew but ignored it.

From the IFS:

https://ifs.org.uk/articles/ps22bn-black-hole-was-obvious-anyone-who-dared-look

I was going to say, the only things which have grown are inflation, benefits bill and unemployment! Clearly I need to be on better medication though.

I think it is a matter of perspective. We are talking economic growth, this Reeves fangirl must be talking about benefit claimant growth, for which Reeves is doing remarkably well.

"Growth is better than it has been" 🤣🤣🤣 I clearly need to take whatever you are taking.

Growth is better than it has been, i'm glad we can agree on that.

You responded, poorly, to my post replying to another pp, who said Lab were doing worse than the previous Govt, its not my fault you failed to grasp this point.

Growth has been some of the best in the G7, why do you think that is?

I don't think they are doing a terrible job, they are imho doing better than the previous Govt and thats what matters.

Everyone? Labour secured 33% of the vote but just 23% of the total electorate, they are down around 20%

They never had much support in the first place, it will be the same whoever wins in 2029. its a real problem with our voting system.