Rishi! Sunak!

All this talk of tax reduction ignores the main reason why they are doing it.

It’s part of the scorched earth policy – cut taxes, Labour come in & immediately have to raise them or will have to do it at some point in the future – then all the headlines will be here comes Labour to steal your hard earned money.

@princejohn exactly.

It’s a trap.

A really bloody obvious one.

Starmer won’t fall for it. He is committed to the same fiscal prudence/taxation as the Tories.

All they need is a poster of an old dear laying on the floor and a caption saying do you want an ambulance or richer billionaires?

Labour come in & immediately have to raise them or will have to do it at some point in the future

Why will they have to do that? The accepted economic narrative is that ‘we have no money’ and from that it follows that taxes must be raised. But if Reeves is going to follow the US model of Biden’s securonomics then that will also involve ignoring the national debt and boosting investment to generate growth. Assuming that works in the same way it has in the US then taxes won’t need to be raised. They won’t admit to any of this now of course and will stick to the ‘we have no money’ nonsense but they’ll quietly bin that when in power and we won’t see any major tax rises.

Economic growth in the US since Bidens investment in public infrastructure- 8 – 9%

Economic growth in the UK during the same period of austerity with zero investment – pretty much **** all!

They only follow the US model of capitalism when it suits them

The global financial system still (just) backs the US economy to be vibrant and downright large enough to ‘justify’ investing in infrastructure.

I doubt they’ll be so charitable with a piss-ant 6th place economy based heavily on services.

They only follow the US model of capitalism when it suits them

The rebuilding infrastructure is a new thing though after they let it collapse. The yanks are good about lying about their model as well.

Its like how they rant about state support for industries but then lob money for “defence” contracts which just happen to keep the entire industry going eg Boeing. Or Darpa for how the state can interfere and guide industrial development on a massive scale.

To be fair they do have a good tradition of occasionally slapping down dodgy business execs who take the piss a bit too much unlike with us and the serious farce office.

The Americans jail their fraudsters, here we give them Peerages

I’m betting Lord ‘oops, I forgot to pay that 5 million in tax’ Zahawi is absolutely nailed on for Rishi’s tediously predictable honours list when he’s booted out. 🙄

The Americans jail their fraudsters

I argue its more sometimes. Either when they have pulled back the curtain a bit too far to the plebs and hence risk damaging trust to much or they have ripped off someone who has good political connections. Often in the latter case someone who inherited the wealth and is slowly wasting it through stupidity.

Economic growth in the US since Bidens investment in public infrastructure- 8 – 9%

Economic growth in the UK during the same period of austerity with zero investment – pretty much **** all!

They only follow the US model of capitalism when it suits them

Well yes exactly which is why I’ve been banging on for years about the power of the public purse.

You know who was on Biden’s original stimulis team? Professor Stephanie Kelton – leading MMT  proponent.

This is why it’s vital to push back on any lies from either administration but particularly Labour that they’ve run out of money.  You can’t keep harping on about the state of the public finances ~ Biden’s lot are running large deficits. Via interest income and government spending.

Growth follows public investment.  (Which is why Reeves’ stupid idea of growth coming before public spending is twaddle.)

A ‘negative’ public balance is a positive private sector balance. As long as we target the correct areas (loads) we are cooking on solar power.

And of course the UK does State Corporatism choosing to funnel finances away from the public good and straight to powerful pockets.

The Guardian view on rethinking economics: a discipline in disarray holds too much sway in the UK | Editorial https://t.co/xQSNuILR37

— Guardian Opinion (@guardianopinion) April 28, 2024

It also matters how you invest it. This lots only contribution to infrastructure investment is 100 billion of public money on a completely pointless white elephant commuter train line from the midlands into somewhere nearish to London.

Idiots!

The ROI for all that will doubtless be shockingly bad. Im hoping an incoming Labour government would spend its money a bit more wisely than that

“Do we want a massively divided economy where enormous sums of money are hoarded by a small minority who don’t work and consume an awful lot”

I thought the issue is that, at the margin, they don’t consume as much (as a % of income) as poorer folk, they invest more. Which drives up asset prices. Also, poorer folk are more likely to spend any extra incomme locally. So consumption of goods and services will be more if the poor earn more and the rich less.

So consumption of goods and services will be more if the poor earn more and the rich less.

Wealthy are very good at purchasing big ticket items which consume way more resources and materials than the poor, per individual – like big houses, multiple cars, and going into space.  The relative increase that the poor need is hardly likely to put a dent in that. That’s what taxation is for – to limit what the wealthy can take from the rest of us.

Waiting list for a Rolls Royce is over a year. I’d imagine a RR takes a few more bits of metal than the average Astra.

Anyway Sunak is doing another one of those obvious be scared of North Korea speeches today.  Talk about rummaging around the bottom of the box.

I’m very much looking forward to Rishi’s speech detailing how if Putin doesn’t nuke us, we’ll all be eaten by AI nanobots

I presume that for his usual dramatic effect he’ll be stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier or in front of a tank

So he’s doing an election broadcast – we all know what he’ll say.

“Due to imminent threats we are cancelling the election as there is a danger Labour might get in”

Dont forget the “ouch my keks are too tight” prat pose beloved of these pathogens.

Dont forget the “ouch my keks are too tight” prat pose beloved of these pathogens.

They got a memo saying manspreading is a good thing so thought why not do it standing up too.

I presume that for his usual dramatic effect he’ll be stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier or in front of a tank

Please God please let someone recreate this with an actionman tank and doll. Eagle eyes options

I presume you missed the two cuts to NI which primarily benefitted people on the basic tax rate?

It benefits those who earn up to the NI limit the most, so folk on at least £50k.

Don’t I remember you all telling me that £50k was a lot and the ‘average’ was £38k?

He is committed to the same fiscal prudence/taxation as the Tories.

Go back a few pages – it’s needed to be elected because otherwise the client media will be 101% out for Labour.

Have you learned NOTHING from the last 30 years or so?

it’s needed to be elected because otherwise the client media will be 101% out for Labour.

Citation needed. The right wing rags billionaire owners arent stupid and so will only be holding back if its not just to be elected but willing to carry on policies to serve them.

Have you learned NOTHING from the last 30 years or so?

Clearly you havent. We could take the obvious 1997 case of how the tories admitted their fiscal rules were a trap which if by some miracle they had won wouldnt have been kept.

And there we have it. He’s caved in to the nutters yet again. Suella and crew have successfully bullied him once again.

Withdrawing from the ECHR is now official Tory policy

The rest of it is just gaslighting bollocks

Watching the little fellas speech, can anyone tell me which country he is talking about please?

Damn humans, wanting to keep their rights… so glad I’m not hu… oh, shit.

Who would have predicted this, say, 8 years ago? Well, apart from everyone.

Still hoping they’ll be throughly rejected on this platform later this year… but long term? I suspect this is where his party, and probably the UK as a whole, will end up.

The rest of it is just gaslighting bollocks

You’ve simply fallen for Labour pessimism binners, we are living in a New Jerusalem, Sunak just said so.

Get with the program!

So basically Labour will give me cancer, let North Korea invade and inject me with socialist nanobots.

Bastards.

So basically Labour will give me cancer, let North Korea invade and inject me with socialist nanobots.

Well, if the alternative is another 20 years of Tory rule……

Hiya,

Just read Sunak’s dramatic speech, wow, what a complete shock…

The reality seems to be sour grapes of losing support in his own party, his rubbish performance… Oh yes, and  actually coming second in a two horse race, that none of us was invited to participate in. Just seems to be a slow death march to tory oblivion…Well one can hope cos I hate the lot of the self serving tossers…

JeZ

His speech seems a bit contradictory.

Talking about doomsterism whilst saying how dangerous the next five years will be.

Talking about choice between future and past seems a somewhat dubious stance for the party which has been in power for the last 14 years.

Sunak says he refuses to accept the “doomsterism and cynical narrative of decline” that Labour hope will “depress people” into voting for them.

But he’s more than happy to try & scare people into voting for them… Just give us an election date & go & AI in America.

I find his tone and delivery – head prefect talking to a group of naughty 1st years – monumentally irritating

Want us to trust in him to keep us safe… yet is ready to bugger off to California at a moment’s notice should things really get dicey back in Blighty.

Go back a few pages – it’s needed to be elected because otherwise the client media will be 101% out for Labour.

Have you learned NOTHING from the last 30 years or so?

That’s a really weird response to my comment! I said that it won’t be a “trap” set by the Tories because under Starmer a Labour government will match the Tories on spending and taxation.

Here’s what I said:

Starmer won’t fall for it. He is committed to the same fiscal prudence/taxation as the Tories.

Which bit of that are you arguing against?

I find his tone and delivery – head prefect talking to a group of naughty 1st years – monumentally irritating

This is his main problem. Starmer at least comes across as a normal-ish bloke, and Johnson did too despite his posh name and eton background. Sunak though just comes across as a patronising posh c*** and he’ll never be able to change that. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact Starmer and Johnson are both massive drinkers and Sunak is a pious teetotaller?

Nah, it’s cos he’s just not up to the job

Sunak though just comes across as a patronising posh c*** and he’ll never be able to change that. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact Starmer and Johnson are both massive drinkers and Sunak is a pious teetotaller?

As a pious teetotaler may I patronising suggest that you are better than that Daz.

Or has years of drinking impaired your judgement?

I wish Charles Kennedy had been teetotal. I still really miss him in UK politics.

I wish Charles Kennedy had been teetotal. I still really miss him in UK politics.

Too **** right. Robbing British politics of Charles Kennedy is just one more thing which I can add to my list of reasons why I am unimpressed by alcohol.

Sunak though just comes across as a patronising posh c*** and he’ll never be able to change that.

+1. He’s like a teacher who doesn’t really know what subject he’s teaching, just that he’s in charge of a classroom of unruly students and he needs to use his “authority” to lord it over them.

He can’t relate to any of them on a personal level, he doesn’t really know his subject well enough to be teaching it so he’s just standing at the front rather peevishly telling us all that we’ll all suffer if we don’t just shut up and listen to him.

And also that we can’t go and complain to the headmaster about him cos he’s pulled the class out of the Educational College Headmaster’s Responsibilities (ECHR)…  😉