MEL STRIDE: Tax more, spend more, get poorer… Britain’s lagging behind due to Labour’s mistakes
When Labor won the General Election, Rachel Reeves promised ‘a new era of economic growth’.
He declared that growth was his ‘number one mission’.
He promised to ‘fix Britain’s economic foundations’ and ‘make every part of the country better off’.
Today, that promise is in tatters. The UK faces the biggest growth downgrade in the G7; A decision that goes against the Chancellor’s record.
On a per capita basis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says our growth expectations this year are now at the bottom of the table. Far from leading into a new era of prosperity, Britain is now falling behind because of Rachel Reeves’ choices. This is a complete insult for someone who calls himself the ‘Iron Chancellor’.
And Reeves can’t say he wasn’t warned. The signs were there from the beginning. His first Budget did not support business, but battered it. A National Insurance hike that penalizes job creators. Business rates increases hurting hospitality. And now, for the first time in 15 years, the threat of an impending fuel tax increase has emerged. A bad decision may be unfortunate, but it is a pattern.
What we are seeing now is the inevitable result of Labour’s mistakes. Inflation rose even higher. Unemployment is skyrocketing. Businesses are closing their doors. Families feel poorer. The UK was left with the highest inflation in the G7 as the conflict in the Middle East dealt a fresh shock to our economy.
Thanks to the elections of self-styled ‘Iron Chancellor’ Rachel Reeves, the International Monetary Fund says Britain’s growth prospects are now at the bottom of the table, says Mel Stride
And yet Reeves and Ed Miliband refuse to return to their net-zero obsession, which has left us reliant on imported energy while our own oil and gas sit untapped.
Incredibly, Reeves tells the world to ‘follow my plan’. So why would anyone want to copy what he did to the British economy?
If that’s the plan, this is a master class in how to shut down an economy. Pay more taxes. Spend more. Get poorer.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride says Conservatives can deliver a better economic path for Britain
This is not only misguided, but also economically illiterate. Reeves must have it. Every rating downgrade, every closure, every shrinking family budget, it’s all based on the choices made in Downing Street.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Under Kemi Badenoch, the Conservatives offer a better way; A path based on supporting business and employees.
We will rein in ballooning welfare legislation, put more people into work, drill in the North Sea and restore discipline to public finances.
We support, not crush, British business by cutting taxes, easing the burden of regulation and unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit that has always driven this country forward.
Because Britain’s best days may still be ahead of us.
Mel Stride is the Shadow Chancellor
