Not for the first time, it’s Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh who’s provided the standout fireworks from Rishi’s treasury select committee appearance. With Sunak once again flaunting his supposed low-tax credentials, McDonagh repeatedly blasted the Chancellor for whacking up the tax burden to unprecedented levels – at one point even asking Sunak if he thinks the public “are stupid”. Which seems excessive, although given her line of attack, McDonagh needs to remind everyone she’s a member of the opposition – and not, say, the Tory backbenches – somehow…
Rishi: “…I think you’re talking about through to the end of the Parliament, we’ve already had that conversation.”
Siobhan: “With respect, you don’t decide what questions we ask, or how often we ask them. Let’s do the maths though. When you add up all the proposed tax increases, and subtract your fuel duty, income tax, and national insurance pledges, the net result is a 3.3% rise in the tax to GDP ratio between 2019-20, and 26-27.”
Rishi: “No it’s a reflection of the fact that public spending is also, over that period, going to rise by over 2 percentage points of GDP… Government has to pay for the things it’s spending money on… rather than cut public spending, we’re raising the taxes to pay for it.”
McDonagh then went on to question the timings of Rishi’s proposed 1% cut to income tax, suggesting it was a cynical election ploy. Maybe it is, although it’s still pretty good politics. Labour are probably going to have to vote against a tax cut now after all…
It was a Labour MP who provided the stand-out moment from Rishi’s Treasury select committee appearance yesterday. Siobhain McDonagh demanded Rishi name a proper tax cut he’d made:
“…it’s not a tax cut, that’s a benefit change. It’s not a tax cut. It’s a change in the taper rate to Universal Credit…you’re just desperate to find a tax cut. We’re sitting in the Margaret Thatcher room, and you hope to emulate her, but the British Prime Minister and British Tory government that you are most emulating at the moment is Ted Heath’s: low growth, and therefore high tax. Is that not the case.”
Rishi responded by saying the UK is forecast to grow at an historically high level next year, which is true, although it’s then to decline back below 2% from 2023. It shouldn’t take a Labour MP to be pointing this stuff out.
Following Rishi’s Budget speech, enduringly miserable Ian Blackford lambasted the government for cutting Air Passenger Duty. In his speech he slammed Boris for speaking about “the importance of 1.5 (degrees)” and subsequently cutting “air passenger duty for domestic flights”. He added
“Chancellor, this is a disgrace and shows quite frankly that this is not a Government that understands the climate challenge that we all face and the Chancellor should withdraw and remove that proposal.”
Since being elected in 2015 Ian has spent £72,568 of taxpayers’ money on flights, this is 54% of his total travel bill since entering parliament. He’s splashed out on flights that have cost up to £813 – which if anything shows how necessary the APD cut is.
- Between 2021-2022 Blackford expensed £716.19 on air travel
- Between 2020-2021 Blackford expensed £1,233.66 on air travel
- Between 2019-2020 Blackford expensed £17,410.32 on air travel
- Between 2018-2019 Blackford expensed £17,733.99 on air travel
- Between 2017-2018 Blackford expensed £7,398.93 on air travel
“Mr Blackford should realise more than most that the domestic APD cut is good news for those who need to travel for work and visit family. Higher taxes just mean that travel remains the preserve of the elites. It’s easy being green when someone else pays the bills.”
It’s plane to see that Blackford doesn’t care whether ordinary people without expense accounts are able to save their hard earned dosh when travelling the country. One bill for them and another for us…
After it emerged Boris’s and the Chancellor’s beer photoshoot had fallen flat, Rishi’s post-Budget media round has been tripped up yet again. Touring Greater Manchester, Rishi stressed that each person should feel “pride in the place you call home”. It made it all the more awkward when he then, standing in Bury market, proudly proclaimed to be at the “world famous Burnley market” – 20 miles down the road. Unfortunately the teetotal chancellor can’t blame the mix up on a sore post-pub head…
For a teetotaller, Rishi had a pub-heavy afternoon yesterday, celebrating his massive reforms to alcohol duty. Not only did Guido catch the Chancellor quietly arriving at an incredibly busy Treasury drinks session at the Two Chairmen*, he joined the PM for a photoshoot at London’s Fourpure brewery.
The duo were photographed hauling kegs of beer, with Boris showing he needs to add weightlifting to his current cardio regime. There was just one problem with the shoot – they were posing with 30-litre containers. Only breweries that use 40-litre kegs, however, will actually benefit from Rishi’s announced reduction, meaning those Boris and Rishi posed with are not eligible for the 5% tax reduction. The No. 10 events team won’t be in the SpAd good books this morning…
*Invoices are on their way…
The results are in, and red Rishi’s spendthrift Budget was a roaring success – with Labour voters. 51% of Labour’s 2019 voters approved of the Chancellor’s generous spending. The Savanta/ComRes snap poll also shows 53% of all voters support the spending plans, with just 15% of Brits outright opposed to them. The Budget was largely popular amongst Tories, with 63% of their 2019 voters approving of the plans. Latent Thatcherite Rishi will be less pleased to hear that 39% of people polled now associate the Tories with tax rises, yet just 30% associate tax rises with Labour…
