As speculation of a raft of tax hikes sends millionaires fleeing and businesses freezing their hiring plans, Rachel Reeves is doing little to calm any nerves. Speaking to reporters this afternoon she trotted out Labour’s ever-shifting definition of ‘working people’. The undefined ‘modest income’ was thrown into the mix yesterday…
Pressed on what tax hikes – including a wealth tax – could be in the Autumn Budget, Reeves said:
“We haven’t even set the date for the budget yet. I’m not going to speculate about what might happen at an event that we haven’t even decided a date on yet. But we’ve been really clear in our manifesto about the taxes that we won’t increase. And we’re not going to increase the taxes that working people pay, their income tax, their national insurance, and their VAT. I’m not going to start speculating or or setting out plans.”
Again, not ruling out a wealth tax. If only a minister could actually define who ‘working people’ are…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”