To find Rachel Reeves an irritating pain in the neck

[Viviennemary]

Just been listening to this Spring Statement. What a load of total waffle. About how great things are going to be. Absolute and utter nonsense.

Growth has alluded us since 08, we need. radical change & it will take years

No. The opposite. At present Far too many children are pushed back home to dreadful awful birth parents because of the costs and of foster care and the pressure on local authority finances

This is the thing j don’t understand. I have worked in economics and finance for 20 years. Despite this, I do not feel in any way, shape or form that I would have the experience/ability to be chancellor.

but, if I was, I absolutely would just be cutting business taxes hard. Perhaps go heavier on corporation tax but less on employment tax. Tax profits not costs. Encourage reinvestment of residual profits. I absolutely see no gain in taxing your business for having employees. All it does is encourage you to keep your workforce lean, which means a greater amount on benefits. Surely this is obvious to anyone?

It was often said about Gordon Brown and continues to be said about Sir Keir Starmer

But regardless she will be judged more I haven't agreed with all decisions made but I like her straightforward approach. Labour told us they shall have to make difficult decisions

Probably best not to halve it to start with.

Do you usually refer to women as "bitch" when you don't like them?

So do I. I really like her. People need to understand and remember what we lived through the past 14 or so years. They aren’t going to turn all that mess around in the months they’re been in govt.
(Un) surprisingly, it’s the same folks that voted the Torries & perhaps Brexit that complain about the LP.

First , their fear was that the LP was going to “ waste “ all the funds they’d managed to “conserve “ and now, it’s that they aren’t spending as much and cutting back ? People need pick a battle. We either want a working economy or we don’t.

The economy hasn't recovered since then, I agree, and I also agree about change. Unfortunately it seems like more of the same.

Perhaps go heavier on corporation tax but less on employment tax. Tax profits not costs. Encourage reinvestment of residual profits. I absolutely see no gain in taxing your business for having employees. All it does is encourage you to keep your workforce lean, which means a greater amount on benefits. Surely this is obvious to anyone?

Wouldn't an increase on corporation tax mean less profit though?

It is to anybody with any knowledge of basic economics yes. That's the worry and she is the chancellor.

Rachel Reeves’ benefits cuts will push an estimated quarter of a million people, including 50,000 children, into poverty by the end of this decade, according to the government's own impact assessment.

Assume this is a joke? She is the opposite.

Unfortunately it seems like more of the same.

That's the depressing bit, can things ever change?

Oooh, the VAT on schools fees starting to bite???

Yes but profit comes after everything else. You have to tax something. You want to drive growth so you want companies to be making money. If you tax employees then companies are not going to be making much profit to tax corporation tax on. Then losses can be carried forward to future years so less tax on those years.

I'm actually quite impressed that she's not shying away from the massive mess of benefits.

If the conservatives did this, labour would vote it all down so it's quite ironic we need a labour government to address it.

I think the manifesto promises not to raise taxes have her hamstrung..the usual options aren't available. There isn't the magic money tree they implied existed.

The trouble is that leaves many anti businesses options and so here we are. We are all going to get a shock at the cost of everything after April 1st..

RR said the below today
“The Labour party is the party” of work, Reeves says. More than 1,000 people a day are qualifying for personal independence payments (Pip), Reeves says. “It is a waste of their potential and a waste of their futures.”

PIP is not an out of work benefit and is supposed to help disabled people with the extra costs of being disabled, including in employment. I personally think her above comments are disgraceful and they actually demonstrate ignorance and lack of understanding of PIP and the problems disabled people face. She could at least just be truthful and say we can't afford to pay for peoples disabilities anymore but to dress it up as PIP stopping people from working is typical politician speak trying to get support from the public to cut payments to workshy disabled people.

@CantStopMoving I'm just not convinced increased corporation tax wouldn't also encourage a leaner workforce.

This big old common bird looks awkward. God knows where they got her from.

Starmer reminds me of Steve Pemberton, the creepy one from Royston Vasey.

Dozens. And how many people in the constituency?

Oh dear

And why didn’t our economy recover after the pandemic, as other countries with similar lockdown provision did?

I agree FiveBarGate

the benefits system absolutely has to be changed and I think it was a mistake to make such a promise not to increase taxes

the benefits system absolutely has to be changed and I think it was a mistake to make such a promise not to increase taxes

Income tax particularly for higher earners is high and that's before you look at the cliff edges or the frozen tax bands.