Britain's budget: bold or faint-hearted?
Britain's Treasury chief Rachel Reeeves presented the budget on Wednesday. By combining tax increases to the tune of 30 billion euros, more child subsidies and less debt, Keir Starmer's Labour government hopes to lead the country out of crisis. The budget proposals are "fair but necessary," Reeves claims. Opinions from the press are divided.
Sensible and long overdue
The budget will make Britain a fairer place, The Guardian observes:
“Scrapping the two‑child benefit cap, putting up gambling taxes, freezing rail fares and implementing a mansion tax are not just sensible moves - they are long overdue. As is a 'managed transition' for the North Sea that supports workers while pivoting to clean energy, without abruptly ditching oil and gas. The country will be a better, fairer place for these measures.”
Socialism sends its greetings
The Daily Telegraph has nothing good to say about the budget:
“A farrago of bile, envy and nastiness that will vandalise our economy and ruin our society. Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer ... have unleashed full-blooded socialism on a country that never voted for it, raised tax by about 68 billion pounds a year over two budgets (according to the Resolution Foundation) and declared war on property rights and the productive class. ... It is a seminal moment in Britain’s descent into hardcore egalitarianism. ... This is the final death of Thatcherism, of the British dream, of the idea that ordinary people, through hard work, can climb the property ladder.”
The long shadow of Brexit
The UK's exit from the EU continues to have repercussions, The Irish Times points out:
“There is one clear reason for the poor performance of the economy. Recently released research by the US National Bureau of Economic Research on the impact of Brexit shows that the outcome has been far worse than even the gloomiest forecasts at the time of the 2016 referendum. There has been a massive hit to UK investment, productivity and GDP growth. ... Nearly a decade after the referendum and five years after the UK's exit from the EU, the economic and political price of Brexit is all too clear. However, its chief proponents do not seem to be paying the political price.”
Things are not looking good
The United Kingdom is caught in a downward spiral, eldiario.es explains:
“According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent agency that advises the government, none of the measures will promote growth. ... Between six and eight percent of the prosperity of the last decade has been lost due to Brexit. ... Very few politicians argue that fewer migrants lead to poorer public services. That in turn leads to discontent among the population, and the rise of populists who blame foreigners and push for restrictions that further weaken the country. Immigration, trade and international connections are interlinked. ... The UK has made its choice - and it doesn't look good.”