On Monday, I was in the House of Commons as the Chancellor came to Parliament and pretended that like Old Mother Hubbard she had opened the cupboard and it was bare.
Despite saying during the election campaign that “you don’t need to win an election” to find out the state of public finances, apparently there is a £20 billion spending “black hole” no one knew about. In reality, this was a transparent attempt to lay the ground for tax rises Labour promised not to impose during the election.
Indeed, over £10 billion of the supposed black hole was a result of the Chancellor’s decisions on public sector pay. It is important that pay supports the retention and recruitment of teachers, police, and NHS staff. However, it was surprising that Labour agreed to a 22% pay increase for junior doctors which includes the period they were on strike – little wonder nurses are asking why they are being treated differently.
Since the election the Chancellor has also announced £24 billion of new spending commitments. Hardly the actions of someone worried about the state of the public finances.
Nonetheless, the Chancellor certainly made many unpopular decisions. She cancelled a cap on social care costs for thousands of people and has taken away the Winter Fuel Payment from millions of pensioners. Road and rail projects have been binned. The opportunity for people to buy discounted shares in NatWest which taxpayers bailed out during the financial crisis when Labour was last in power has been taken away.
These are all decisions and choices the new government has decided to make – rather than taking a responsible approach on pay, productivity, and welfare reform to ensure sustainable finances.
And then there is healthcare. During the election campaign Labour committed to delivering the new hospitals programme including a new QEH by 2030. No ifs, no buts, no asterix against the promise which was reported in this paper. Yet, instead of getting on with it, the Chancellor confirmed a review of the programme which will only cause further delay and damaging uncertainty for NHS staff and patients.
What is there to review? Ministers simply need to act on the independent expert report from 2 years ago which set out the compelling case for a new hospital to address the RAAC issue. They have a duty of care to staff and patients and must act on these safety warnings. That is why the last government made the RAAC hospitals a priority for rebuild. So I will continue to press the new Labour government during this review to stick to the promises they made to our local community.
Looking back on the election campaign it is of course the case Labour won a large majority. In doing so they promised more than 50 times not to increase taxes. In October’s Budget we will see if they stick to that or as I fear hit working families with higher taxes.
First published in Lynn News, 2 August 2024
