No easy fixes
AFTER becoming our unelected Prime Minister yesterday, Andy Burnham said his generation of politicians needed to “raise our game”.
Unfortunately for the hard workers and wealth-creators of this country, one of his first acts might well be to raise their taxes.
The public want lower taxes, tougher border controls and welfare reform — but has Andy Burnham got the stomach to deliver? Credit: Getty
Burnham must ensure the class-war politics of envy, which run deep in Burnham’s team — led by his de facto Deputy PM, the virulently left-wing Louise Haigh — don’t trump economic reality Credit: Alamy
The new PM yesterday repeated some of his high-spending vision: building tens of thousands of council houses, state control of energy and water and “re-industrialising” Britain using vast sums of taxpayers’ cash.
How he is going to pay for his ten-year plan — which, staggeringly, won’t be set out for months — remains to be seen.
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Having celebrated in Downing Street with his Northern supporters, Burnham later refused to rule out increasing the top rate of income tax to 50p.
Despite that being a policy that has historically led to SMALLER tax receipts for the Treasury, he believes it could help pay for a lifting of thresholds for low-income taxpayers.
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But experts reckon that could cost up to £5billion while delivering a saving to poorer workers of just £100 a year.
It falls to new Chancellor John Healey to make these difficult sums add up.
He must ensure the class-war politics of envy, which run deep in Burnham’s team — led by his de facto Deputy PM, the virulently left-wing Louise Haigh — don’t trump economic reality.
There will be widespread relief on the markets at Healey’s shock return to the Treasury at the expense of Ed Miliband, now made Foreign Secretary. It should also be good news for defence chiefs desperate for cash to re-arm.
But beyond the smiles and Manchester vibes, there are serious problems ahead.
The public have been clear for years about their priorities: cutting welfare, stopping the boats and fixing our broken borders system.
They are sick of paying sky-high taxes, believe Net Zero is failing and want more NEW drilling in the North Sea.
And they are fed up with political chaos delivering our seventh PM in just over a decade.
Has Burnham got the stomach to deliver any of this? More than half his party hates the idea of slashing welfare — the only way to find the money to mend our public services.
Instead, the fantasists on his backbenches want to soak the strivers with MORE tax to pay for reforms.
Meanwhile most Labour MPs want open borders and are hostile to Shabana Mahmood’s tough immigration reforms.
By purging almost every Starmer loyalist minister yesterday, Burnham may have also undermined his own promise to end infighting in the party.
Britain is crying out for a leader, not a people-pleaser.
Tinkering with bus fares and chucking £340million at ending rough sleeping is unlikely to cut it with angry voters, who will be quick to punish Burnham if he fails.
