September 23, 2024 08:47 GMT
UK FISCAL: Reeves to deliver speech today at midday BST
UK FISCAL
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- Chancellor Reeves is due to deliver her speech at the Labour Party Conference today around midday BST.
- It is unlikely that there will be any concrete policy announcements. Indeed, even when asked to rule any fiscal policy in or out senior government officials have stuck to the script and cited little other than the manifesto commitments of no rises to income tax, employee national insurance or VAT. And to protect the pension triple lock (to increase with the state pension with the greatest of 2.5%, inflation or average earnings).
- The most controversial policy so far has been to restrict the winter fuel payment to those on pension credit (around 2 million pensioners) instead of it being a universal benefit for all pensions (around 8 million). There has been a huge backlash against this from both unions and a lot of backbench MPs. Only a handful voted against the policy being introduced but around 50 Labour MPs are thought to have abstained.
- Reeves was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 this morning and was repeatedly asked what "no return to austerity meant". She said that she wouldn't give any exact numbers on any specific government departments but said that overall government spending would grow in real terms. She also ruled out the introduction of a wealth tax.
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