It’s very easy to point fingers at the memory of, just a couple of short years ago, the promise of a ‘high wage economy’ being a good thing. So I will. Remember, these higher-than-expected wage growth figures are an average, and if you dig down, it’s the earnings of the top 10% which are pushing up those averages. The lower paid, yes, are earning more, but not in real terms with inflation still around 8%. And there really is no point in Chancellor Jeremy echoing calls for wage restraint and asking companies to reduce their profits. You can’t have it both ways, praising the free-market and then asking it to give up its freedom voluntarily. Like asking Djokovic to miss a few to give the others a chance. And, no, I don’t have all the answers. But the scary thing is, neither do those who are supposed to.
“Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes”
Why did she/they (in the old sense) think that tinkering around with IHT and CGT would be enough to sort out the NHS; and the potholes; and…and the list goes on. My guess is that they asked the Treasury for a list of anything not involving income tax that they could get away with lightly, although they should already have learned from the winter fuel stuff that all publicity is not good publicity.