Left-Wing Wonks Slam Spending Cuts in Spring Statement – Guido Fawkes

Left-Wing Wonks Slam Spending Cuts in Spring Statement

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Reactions from Westminster’s think tanks to Reeves’ spring statement have come in. Free market wonks are pointing to the OBR slashing its growth forecast in half while hammering Reeves’ NICs hikes and Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill. Those on the left are slamming the further cuts to welfare and government spending. Something Starmer will be battling with his backbenchers over in the next few days… 

• The Adam Smith Institute’s Maxwell Marlow slams Reeves for not cancelling the tax on jobs or reforming the state pension, saying, “It is no exaggeration to say that our economy is in dire straits. Our growth forecast has been sliced in half, our standards of living have been flatlining for years, and we have a huge debt problem. The Chancellor must cut anti-growth and anti-business taxes. If she does not, we must brace for a 1970s-style crisis.”
• The Institute for Economic Affairs’ executive director Tom Clougherty also blasts the sluggish growth, calling for more fundamental reform: “When you look at the sluggish growth forecasts, and the enormous liabilities the state will encounter as the population ages, Britain’s cycle of fiscal events feels a lot like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” Sinking ship…
• The Jobs Foundation’s Matthew Elliott hammers the Employment Rights Bill for killing jobs and growth, saying, “the increase to employer NICs and the upcoming Employment Rights Bill are a major barrier on businesses expanding their operations and hiring more people, and in turn, growing the economy and providing more funds for public services.”
• Meanwhile the Growth Commission’s Ewen Stewart agrees with Elliot, saying “If delivering growth is the Government’s ‘number one priority’, as the Prime Minister asserted after taking office, why are they pressing ahead with the growth-killing Employment Rights Bill?”
• Robert Colvile, Centre for Policy Studies’ director welcomes some of the announcements, saying: “Given where Rachel Reeves found herself, the Chancellor should be congratulated for not making things worse – in particular, by raising taxes again. It was also welcome to see the Government focusing on reducing the welfare bill, cutting the size of the Civil Service and making Whitehall work more efficiently – though the proof will be in the delivery…It was not global uncertainty that imposed a multi-billion-pound jobs tax, or introduced an Employment Rights Bill loathed by every business in the country. Those measures will make it harder to create the jobs and growth that will deliver the welfare savings the Government is promising.”
• John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance welcomes the planning reforms, though argued it would do little to boost growth coupled with Labour’s tax hikes, saying “The excruciating sight of a chancellor facing the consequences of her own actions will not provide any schadenfreude for businesses facing surging tax bills, job-seekers seeing opportunities evaporate, and farmers fearing for their livelihoods.”
• The Tony Blair Institute warns of the opposition the government faces over spending cuts, saying: “These decisions won’t have been made lightly, and some MPs on the Labour benches are clearly concerned. Following the Autumn Budget’s big boost to spending, the government has been compelled to deliver on its promises largely through redistribution – taking from one area to fund priorities elsewhere. Incumbents across the globe are struggling to maintain public support – and the government will be aware of the fate of its counterparts across Europe and beyond.” Starmer will have to placate angry backbenchers who have so far failed to rebel in any meaningful way…
• The left-wing Institute For Public Policy Research’s Harry Quilter-Pinner slams the government spending cuts, saying “It’s important to avoid cuts that harm long-run growth or hit people in the greatest need. The government needs to think long-term about who should bear these costs over time – and make different choices to previous governments, not least those made by George Osborne. Right now, there are options on the table for raising revenue without breaking the government’s self-imposed tax rules – from closing loopholes in capital gains and inheritance tax to looking again at gambling levies.”
• The far-left New Economics Foundation’s Hannah Peaker also attacks the spending cuts, saying “The Chancellor claims that she is focused on improving living standards for ordinary people, yet the cuts announced to social security and departmental spending will almost certainly undermine the growth that has been forecast.” Labour’s also facing backlash from the unions on this one…

Broadly a grim reception from across the board…