"Too many Labour MPs want it all, and no amount of pleading from the top of government about the depleted public finances seems to make a difference. The mainly leftist MPs want all the wrongs of the last 15 years put right and quickly. Their next opportunity to demand more cash arrives when Rachel Reeves delivers her spring statement on 3 March. All the signs are that the chancellor will try to marry caution about the public finances directed at backbench MPs"
"Where the former prime minister extolled the virtues of tax cuts as economic rocket boosters, Labour MPs will instead trumpet public spending as the engine of growth. Last week's figures showing a record haul of tax receipts in January will have fuelled this desire, revealing, supposedly, that the Treasury is in good shape and able to accommodate their many and varied spending demands."
Many Labour MPs, mainly on the left, are demanding rapid reversal of perceived wrongs from the past 15 years through increased public spending. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, faces a spring statement balancing fiscal caution with optimism about economic recovery. Record tax receipts in January and a drop in inflation from 3.4% to 3% bolster arguments for more spending and the possibility of lower Bank of England interest rates. Lower inflation and rates would ease the cost-of-living crisis, reduce public borrowing costs, increase public sector spending power, and potentially provide £10–11bn additional fiscal headroom for the Treasury.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]