To be concerned about tax u turn

[Costaoff]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/14/rachel-reeves-to-abandon-plans-to-raise-income-tax-rates-in-budget

It's evident that Reeves has been forced to back pedal by Starmer. How can you promise not to raise income tax; leak story after story about the need to increase income tax; and then make a last minute u-turn.

I think they will just target everything: pensions, lower the tax threshold; insurance tax; alcohol duty; capital gains taxs; stamp duty.

I think their proposal to increase income tax by 2% but reduce NI by 2% was sensible.

She’s going to take your money somehow.

Yeah, however they dress it up, we’re all going to be rinsed.

I wish they would enlist Richard Murphy who has many excellent policy suggestions. We don’t actually have to ‘balance the budget’, the government make the money and bonds are always wanted in the market. We can spend more than we bring in in tax safely and I’m annoyed Labour are sticking to the Tories austerity bullshit line on this. There’s also plenty of simple ways to bring in more tax from the top that don’t make people panic

Labour take your money and spend it. She’ll get it somehow. She’s going to try to pretend she’s had an upgraded forecast, when it’s because Starmer was going to be a goner.

She’s a goner, regardless. She just has to deliver the message.

This flailing around is absolutely terrifying. It just shows there is absolutely no plan. This is just in response to the shocking week Starmer has had, rather that any rational thought.

Yep

All governments take your money and spend it.

I am no Labour super fan or anything. But I do feel for them a bit.

They have inherited public services which desperately need more funding (health, social care, education).

When they put up NI everyone whinged.

When they tried to address the welfare bill or winter fuel allowance, everyone whinged.

When there was a rumour taxes would increase, everyone whinged.

Now there's a suggestion taxes won't increase, people on this thread are whinging.

There is simply no easy answer that people will be happy with.

Starmer knew he was on the way out, she’s going to deliver the budget and then she’ll be on the back benches very soon after.

It's a ridiculous decision and very short sighted. They are making themselves look incompetent. We do not have enough money to continue in this way. We need to increase income tax

They will deliver the budget - there will be a massive unease, both will be turfed out & a new PM will step in and fuck it up more.

Probably with the promise of a peerage to soften the blow...

I agree. They need to raise money somehow- the sensible and obvious way is income tax. The alternatives are a) massively cutting spending (which I think they should also do but won't be popular) or b) endless tinkering to try to make tuppence here and there as we've seen so far, which pisses everyone off, doesn't address the issue and in some cases eg raising employers NICS actively makes things worse.

This is why politicians need to have courage and vision- decide what to do and make the case for it. Reversing sensible decisions because people are whinging about them is pointless. Starmer has neither courage nor vision, he is entirely reactive.

Tanking the pound just to save your job is immoral.

This is disappointing. It seems we want the kind of public services they have in northern Europe but we aren't willing to pay for them. We are already a low-tax country.

I think most people who would have paid higher taxes would scarcely have noticed the increase anyway.

I was really hoping they would put up income tax - not because I love paying more tax, but because it seems like the only sensible way out of this mess that would raise enough money to make a difference. It feels like now they’re just going to be tinkering around the edges in a way that annoys lots of people and doesn’t really make a difference.

Having briefed the story about income tax it now looks even weaker not to go through with it.

Why? There are so many things the UK spends money on that doesn't help the ordinary person on the street. Scrap foreign aid, scrap the Chagos deal, stop all the very expensive net-zero taxes, don't get rid of the two child cap, especially when you are threatening to tax ordinary workers to pay something that is a privilege to most people (having more than two children).

None of these help with the image that the UK Governments main objective is to do what is right for the people that pay for all this largesse - British workers! They need to massively reduce the welfare state, otherwise next budget they are going to have to tax workers even more and that is not really an incentive to stay working or stay in the country. You don't bite the hands that feed. Totally sick of paying for all this and it sends out such an irresponsible message and makes the country look like a basket case!

To be honest the only people the income increase really impacts are those on “ok” salaries as opposed to the ultra rich. Those on £45-50k are hardly rolling in it.

They need to up NI to 20%
People will happily pay it if they can actually access a gp/dentist!

I agree in theory ... but I think there is far more constant criticism of Labour in the media for every decision than there was for the Tories. It winds the public up to think they are doing a terrible job, when in reality I think any party in government now would be facing the same challenges.

If we are not careful we will get Reform in and I don't for one second think they will be any better at managing the country's finances and public services, in fact I am pretty sure they would be worse.

I don’t think so post partygate. The media realised there was a fair bit of money to be made from going for it from Sunak’s wife to a card swipe. Labour benefited and now they’ll feeling similar.

Same as any party!

I have private healthcare and dentist am unsure what I actually pay for in Ni as my DH and kids are all covered with what I pay privately. The NHS is stuck in the 1950s.

Given the benefits, pensions, and helping refugees costs they would be committing political suicide if they take more off struggling people who need to work for a living.
I wish they would stop all the kite flying, as it makes them look incompetent and causes massive anxiety for absolutely no reason, if they have no intention of actually doing it.