Is the Chancellor about to crash the economy?

[Startingagainandagain]

I will start by saying I voted Labour, but I am increasingly concerned about what the government has done so far.

Today there are warning that food prices could shoot up, the pound is going down, there were big jitters on the bonds market and government borrowing is higher than planned.

More generally Reeves seems to have spooked businesses and they have no will to expand or employ more people.

I agreed that the Tories left a total mess.

But Labour seems to just go from bad to worse and I am really starting to wish she could be replaced by someone more competent to restore some confidence.

Missing in action yet again - a very convenient way of avoiding addressing a crisis that she alone has created.

She won't resign, they live in an echo chamber and won't ever admit they are wrong! You can see in interviews rhat they get really cross when they are challenged/questioned.
They will have their sycophants telling them they are doing great and those are the only people they listen to. Phillipson, Raynor, Streeting, Reeves and Starmer are all cut from the same cloth.

They are. Who would do differently in Labour? They’ll prop each other up and continue

Not just cross but literally sneering at anyone who dares to challenges them. It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that a significant proportion of the public is smarter and far more capable of critical thinking than they are. Reeves will have to go eventually if enough pressure is put on - Starmer will sacrifice her to save himself even though she's one of his close allies.

This is the thing that stands out most to me about them and the main reason I didn’t want them to get in. They are so fucking arrogant. Wolves in sheep’s clothing the lot of them.

RR now running off to China is reminiscent of Angela Rayner fucking off to go clubbing in Ibiza when they brought the winter fuel cut in - either absolutely tone deaf/thick or they are so arrogant they don’t give a fuck.

God yes that sneering, added to cluelessness. Such arrogance

And it means they’ll keep hammering the private sector without joining up the dots

Reeves is a mistake but I’m not sure anyone else will understand the issue in Labour

The economy has been far from stable for many years. Part of the UK's problem is that we don't have savings any more, after Gordon Brown sold off our gold reserves to the lowest bidder (China) and dished out the proceeds in disincentivising benefits.
Now, more than ever, Labour needs their ideal world to happen. But it won't. People will always have aspirations beyond being part of an Identikit society.
If all previous Labour administrations are anything to go by, the only guarantee we have is that unemployment will have gone up by the time they leave office.

I wouldn't put it pass Labour to be so petty to build relationships with dodgy countries like China rather than the USA because Trump and Musk don't like Starmer. Whatever you think of the USA, they are still our closest ally historically.

This government is NOT thinking what's best for the UK, but what's best for their personal ego and ideology.

I had reservations about Liz Truss and couldn't believe that she got the Tory leadership and became PM, it made me despair and I usually support the Tories, although I'm no fan of Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick, but didn't think Rishi Sunak or Jeremy Hunt were bad, although they were not charismatic. I wish we still had them.

I've never liked Keir Starmer or Rachel Reeves and Rachel Reeves has been as expected and yes she has crashed the economy.

Just what happened to the centre right, that's who I want to see in power, there is massive gap in the centre on both the left and right.

Somebody posted an interview with Truss yesterday.

It's an interesting watch and she argues that no government is currently capable of fixing the country because so much has been outsourced to unaccountable quangos and the civil service aren't accountable either.

That's why nothing changes when the government changes and she argues that we're a 'failed state' on that basis.

I’d hate to agree with Liz Truss on anything but she might have a point there.

I agree - The civil service has lost sight of its purpose.

All governments hate small businesses and not many politicians understand that you have to make a profit after paying rent/rates/tax/utilities and your staff (if any) and suppliers to stay in business. What remains is the element you can pay out in dividends or reinvest in enlarging the business.

The last budget removed any incentive to take the risk of starting a business, and don't let me start on all the compliance burdens imposed on companies, which fall harder on small businesses than on larger ones.

I doubt most people criticising the civil service know much about it.

She’s crashed it - look at the 30 gilt rate. You as an individual can get a cheaper mortgage than the Govt can borrow at. That’s what the market thinks of the risk.

Do tell?

My understanding is, the gilt markets are jittery in the US as well, triggered by the changeover to the forthcoming Trump administration and uncertainties there. So it's not just us, and it's not because of Labour, but they have boxed themselves in in terms of solving this (fiscal rules / not raising taxes).

We are over half a percentage point up on them. Their’s is due mainly to market concerns about tariff imposition (which will likely also impact us if it happens). The treasury have had to intervene in our markets. In the US the market is reacting to what it thinks might happen - here it’s reacting to what is happening due to the budget.

Hmm interesting to agree with Liz Truss she does have a point, and it's true it's a wider global picture and at tge moment I guess uncertainty over Trump is exacerbating an already precarious situation.

Didn’t take Labour long to trash the country, power cuts next and high energy bills! Yay!

I suspect these globalist wef puppets don’t gaf and that was their objective. We won’t have food security either.

They got in on lies and now they don’t care.

Knock on effect of those gilts:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jan/10/uk-debt-market-sell-off-threatens-to-push-up-mortgage-costs

@jasjas3008 Thank you for your insight and for helping us get some perspective

Looks like it. Labour aren’t proving to be much good. 🙄

Just listened to it. She comes across so well. There are too many bureaucrats able to block change. I fear the only route is slash and burn.

Rachel is going to cut spending, she has no choice.