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    Rachel Reeves warns UK public finances in worst state since second world war
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    Rachel Reeves warns UK public finances in worst state since second world war

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    20 Comments

    1. BreakfastSquare9703 on

      Hey, maybe they could implement some of the policies that a Labour government achieved after their landslide victory just after the Second World War, right?

      Right?

    2. WeightDimensions on

      I swear I heard them saying recently that their plans were all fully costed and funded.

      Three days after they’re elected and now we need to prepare for some ‘difficult decisions’.

    3. manufan1992 on

      I have a feeling they knew about the state of the finances before they took over. The question is what are they going to do about it? Austerity doesn’t work. 15 years of cuts on top of cuts proves that. 

    4. Blacksmith_Heart on

      Literally word for word what the Tories were saying in 2010 in order to justify the last 15 years of neoliberal hack-and-slash that has resulted in the largest upward redistribution of wealth in British history. This has not only been disastrous for the working class, it’s also been totally self-defeating even for the sections of capital who derive their profits from the real economy, eg. manufacture, retail etc – undercutting consumer demand and creating a sick, inefficient, inflexible workforce. Austerity has only ever been good for a tiny sliver of the financial aristocracy who are insulated from the actual economic, and who derive their wealth from asset stripping and stock manipulation.

      *Even if* the country’s finances were in as bad a state as after the Second World War (which is patently not true, but nevertheless), the argument is obvious: we were more than capable of building the NHS, creating national insurance and support for the unemployed/disabled, nationalising large national industries and the railways, building a free education system etc etc etc.

      This whole ‘uwu smol state can’t do anyfing’ claptrap is predicated on one brute fact: that they are prostrate before tax-avoiding billionaires, and would rather spend billions of pounds repressing the working-class than to make the rich to pay their fair share.

      She’s got the potential to be a worse Chancellor than Geoffrey Howe under Thatcher.

    5. Electric_Death_1349 on

      And so it begins – in the world’s sixth largest economy we are supposed to believe that there is “no money left!” and “no magic money tree!” (like there was in 2008 when the banks needed to be bailed out), which will require “touch decisions” and “hard choices” which inevitably means more austerity and privatisation.

      The more things change, the more they remain the same.

    6. No-Algae1336 on

      Every time I’m seeing the news, I’m seeing about how bad things are and the Labour Party aren’t doing anything all they’re saying is “things are really bad” it just feels like I an excuse to fail

    7. InbredBog on

      Can we just call ourself collectively ‘U.K. peoples banking inc’ and ask for a bailout?

      Or have a war on poverty?

      Money always seems to fall out the sky for those.

    8. LookOverall on

      Biden has done pretty well by borrowing for capital expenditure. We need to go back to Keynes

    9. DrIvoPingasnik on

      Tax the rich. 

      Tax the corporations. 

      Sanction those who try to exploit loopholes. Close the loopholes.

      Stop beating small and medium businesses to the ground. You can’t get economy growth if you bleed everyone who isn’t giant corpo dry.

    10. Clbull on

      At this point I wouldn’t even be mad if they broke their electoral pledge and raised taxes. Nor should anybody else be.

      I’d rather pay more tax if it means that my elderly dad doesn’t have to wait thirteen hours in A&E before being admitted, as he recently did when he came down with pneumonia.

    11. Darkone539 on

      Well, no. They got way worse after ww2 because we invested in the nhs etc.

    12. princeps_harenae on

      I don’t think people in the UK truly understand the economic disaster Tony Blair and New Labour was for this country. We’ve never recovered since.

    13. sim-pit on

      Wouldn’t have anything to do with us paying millions of people to stay home during covid would it?

      I thought Labour was on board with that idea.

    14. trophy_master1 on

      Sounds like fucking excuses already. So wtf you doing to put it right than just moan about it.

    15. bagofstolencatlitter on

      Literally the only way out of this is dismantling the welfare state and lowering taxes. Labour will never do it.

    16. luxway on

      I can’t wait for austerity to be done by the red conservatives instead of the blue ones.
      Rather than the huge investment programs labour did post ww2 that restored the economy.

    17. Professional_Elk_489 on

      Can’t wait to blame “the last Conservative govt” now for the next 10 years

    19. grrrranm on

      Every one needs to remember that Labour during the pandemic wanted longer and harder lockdowns!

      That’s the main reason why there is no money & why the economy is struggling