John Healey today tried to calm business fears that massive tax rises are coming in the Budget with a vow to get tough on Government spending.
The Chancellor used a speech to pitch a private-sector-friendly version of Labour ahead of October’s financial showpiece after days of turmoil ratcheted up the cost of borrowing.
In an address that had echoes of his predecessor Rachel Reeves he said the Budget would show his commitment to ‘fiscal discipline’ and highlighted the importance of getting UK debt under control.
He told an audience in Coventry he would dedicate himself to making ‘Great Britain growth Britain again’ with more investment, more innovation and more jobs.
The Chancellor insisted there was an ‘optimistic story’ about the UK economy which had ‘huge latent potential’.
It was, he said, ‘a country turning a corner, a country whose people, businesses and communities are ready to seize the opportunity of new technologies and new ideas’.
However, his speech came against a backdrop of fears of wealth taxes that will target businesses and homeowners, major job losses and an inability to rein-in the benefits bill.
And his vow to be a steady hand on the tiller came after new PM Andy Burnham vowed a major shake-up of how the country is run.
The Chancellor used a speech to pitch a private-sector-friendly version of Labour ahead of October’s financial showpiece after days of turmoil ratcheted up the cost of borrowing
In an address that had echoes of his predecessor Rachel Reeves he said the Budget would show his commitment to ‘fiscal discipline’ and highlighted the importance of getting UK debt under control.
Jaguar Land Rover is expected to tell workers today it wants to cut 4,000 jobs as part of a voluntary redundancy programme to help save £1.7billion over the next two years.
At the same time he has been told to break the pensions ‘triple lock’ to take billions of pounds from retired workers and plough it into helping cut youth unemployment.
Writing in the Daily Mail today, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith acknowledged Mr Healey faced ‘tough choices’ but urged him to rule out further increases in Britain’s record tax burden.
He warned that the new Chancellor otherwise risks emulating his Labour namesake Denis Healey, who was forced to go cap-in-hand to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout in 1976.
Mr Griffith said: ‘He should commit to no more tax rises. But I fear that, as Labour chancellors always do, he will take the easy way out.
‘He must be careful or he could risk being the second Healey to bankrupt Britain as Chancellor.’
In his speech ahead of the first Budget since Andy Burnham entered 10 Downing Street, Mr Healey said: ‘The Prime Minister and I are in lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget, to balancing the books with a buffer to protect against uncertainty.
‘To controlling borrowing to bear down on inflation and reducing long-term pressures on our public finances.’
He said the rising burden of debt interest showed ‘staying true to our values means being honest about the need to control government spending’.
Giving an overview of his plans for the economy, Mr Healey said the Government would extend its reforms of judicial review from energy projects to all major infrastructure programmes.
He said the reforms would mean ‘vexatious litigation and challenge can’t block economic growth’.
The Chancellor also reiterated the Government’s commitment to transferring power out of Whitehall, saying he would set out a ‘roadmap to fiscal devolution’ at next month’s Budget.
Ahead of that, he said the British Business Bank would be providing £150 million for fast-growing firms in the North of England and announced the creation of a ‘Northern 500’ group of ‘the North’s most ambitious mid-sized businesses’, to be led by regional mayors.
