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.

Tbf the people of this country don't want to put themselves first. They'd much rather spend their time punching down and believing the lies of greedy grifters than attempt to tackle the core issues.

And did something at least to boost the struggling hospitality sector. They just shouldn't have locked down again in 2021.

Not a single word in their mainifesto about scrapping the fuel allowance for old age pensioners. , Sneaky.

I would put preserving human life above boosting any sector.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67658106

Well, if the comments here are anything to go by - yes, you do need a very elevated level of experience in economics, the private sector experience and the degrees to boot... I don't think we will all agree what an ideal chancellor looks like tbh. I agree that growth should be (and is) a critical priority. The decisions re taxing SME's possibly a mistake (I think they acknowledge that), though there is an argument for getting rid of lower productivity small businesses and diverting the talent into vacancies in higher productivity industries (there are loads of unfilled vacancies).

Boosting growth requires investment, and time. The choices for investment are all unpalatable - tax the rich (can't because they will apparently all up-sticks), tax businesses (they might fall over), borrow more (nope), cut benefits (nope...but oops done that). Is there an easy solution amongst all this?

The rich are already upping sticks, and spending ££ elsewhere. Europe offering golden visas and collecting €€€€

Not sure why public continues to believe taxing the rich increases revenue. It always decreases it.
Stamp duty never makes housing more affordable. It just stagnates the market

Make it attractive for people with cash to invest in UK and want to live here. They are the ones who spend spend spend increasing vat

I do agree with you to some degree. Watching the current shit show unfold in the US has been bringing back memories of five years ago when Trump was in charge there and we had Boris leading us. No exaggeration to say that at times I found that scarier than the pandemic itself.

They said we would not return to austerity. Welfare cuts, axing public sector jobs and generally shrinking the state may not be austerity according to them, but they can't piss on us and tell us it is raining.

I get that they inherited a crock of shit, but I don't think it's any excuse to plunge more people into poverty, particularly the most vulnerable in society at a time where the number of jobs is likely to shrink too, with no help to transition people back into work or pressure on employers to hire disabled people. It just isn't a well thought out plan. A skilled Chancellor would not just go for the most vulnerable in society, they'd have far more imagination. They say they are making 'tough' choices, but it is actually the easy option to go for vulnerable people and despicable.

I did vote Labour as i was disgusted with the Tories, but they are also terrible. Their only saving grace is my local Labour MP is very good and has been against their shit decisions from the off, but they will probably just kick him out. They like group think.

I agree with your post - frustrating as it is, it feels like the rich and super rich hold us to ransom with where they live and store their wealth. They SHOULD want to live in the UK, pay fair amounts of tax, and pay it forward to the country that supported them to get where they are. :( I don't know what Reeves is supposed to do with that.

Who?

Tax unearned income/assets more.

Two things it does, one it shifts tax onto the rich because rich people get a lot more unearned income than poor people. A significant proportion of people on PAYE don't even know what CGT is.

Second it does not limit growth in the same way increasing income tax does.

But they are not taxing rich people more, it seems they prefer to hit the poor and pensioners with cuts instead.

I watched RR celebrating the Labour Party for their achievements in contrast to ‘the party opposite’ . What I saw though was mostly massaging her future predictions of cuts and spending and hopes of catching tax fraudsters to relocate her lost financial headroom. It was smoke and mirrors and frankly felt quite like the misinformation currently being fed to the public in the US

People's lives are dependent on them having a job. Lockdown was overdone

Did you read the BBC News article I linked? Comfortable with it? I'm not.

Surely Kwasi must be credited with this honour!

By a county mile. Thankfully that reign was short lived.

Really good idea

@CantStopMoving absolutely people are shouting it from the roof tops and it's smaller middle businesses that are affected hugely.

She keeps talking about growth whilst putting salts on the roots of business.

Am I imagining it or have the politicians jawarded themselves a substantial pay rise?
If I am correct- why?
Given the current economic climate surely some money could be saved there?

Don't judge, poor Kier can't even afford to buy his own trousers.

Are you being deliberately obtuse?

She has made me so upset and angry. I am one of those people set to lose everything because I am not the "right" sort of disabled.

It's the lack of competence that fills me with horror. She seems to have absolutely no idea and doesn't care how her decisions are affecting people. There is a total emphasis on the phrase 'working families ' without any regard to those who have already paid their way and now retired, and the disabled. Easy targets who now feel completely alienated and dismissed as irrelevant.

I like her. I'm very impressed with this labour government. I am ashamed to say I used to vote tory. Haven't since 2010. George Osborne was an incompetent, arrogant wanker. He took my child benefit. I have never forgiven the unfair way they did that with double income families keeping it.
Labour are doing their best with the last 15 years of shite they're having to deal with. The tories are shite. Hate them. Wasted billions on covid and utterly useless. 15 years and everything got worse unless you were wealthy. Labour finally understand that you can't keep taxing income and they are doing what needs to be done
The only thing I would say is that something needs to be done about housing benefit going to rich landlords to pay their mortgages. This is the biggest problem and scurge on our society. Insane house prices.
I will write to her and tell her she is brilliant. Keep it up!

You’re incorrect. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority sets MPs pay, not the MPs themselves.

Also, it’s 2.8%, which is below inflation.