The recent Labour budget has sparked a mixed response from experts and commentators. On one hand, it marks a significant shift towards prioritizing the needs of low-income families and young people, with measures such as abolishing the two-child benefit cap and increasing the minimum wage.
Polly Toynbee notes that this is a "Labour budget" that "reminds us there can be a better Britain." She highlights the chancellor's efforts to boost the low-paid, take from the well-off, and tackle child poverty. The abolition of the benefit cap will undoubtedly have a positive impact on families struggling to make ends meet.
On the other hand, critics argue that the budget does not do enough to address the root causes of inequality, particularly with regards to taxation and social policy. Julia Davies, for instance, criticizes the freezing of income tax thresholds as "wrong" since it will disproportionately affect working-class individuals who are already struggling. She argues that the government should be targeting the wealthy, who have an unfair advantage in terms of their ability to accumulate wealth.
Abi O'Connor also expresses disappointment with the lack of ambition on taxing the super-rich and tackling inequality. She suggests that a mansion tax would have been a more effective way to raise revenue and reduce the gap between rich and poor.
The budget's announcement on council tax reform has also been met with skepticism, particularly since it does not go far enough in addressing the existing system. Sarah Nankivell argues that moving green policy costs off household bills is an important step towards reducing energy costs for consumers, but notes that there is still more work to be done.
Andy Summers, a tax expert, criticizes the budget's reliance on ad hoc revenue-grabs rather than principled efforts to reform the tax system. He argues that the government has failed to develop a comprehensive vision for a fair and efficient tax system, which would require major structural reforms to address the UK's growth problem.
Overall, while the Labour budget makes some positive steps towards addressing poverty and inequality, there is room for improvement in terms of ambition and scope. Critics are urging the government to do more to tackle the root causes of these issues, particularly through taxation and social policy reforms.
Polly Toynbee notes that this is a "Labour budget" that "reminds us there can be a better Britain." She highlights the chancellor's efforts to boost the low-paid, take from the well-off, and tackle child poverty. The abolition of the benefit cap will undoubtedly have a positive impact on families struggling to make ends meet.
On the other hand, critics argue that the budget does not do enough to address the root causes of inequality, particularly with regards to taxation and social policy. Julia Davies, for instance, criticizes the freezing of income tax thresholds as "wrong" since it will disproportionately affect working-class individuals who are already struggling. She argues that the government should be targeting the wealthy, who have an unfair advantage in terms of their ability to accumulate wealth.
Abi O'Connor also expresses disappointment with the lack of ambition on taxing the super-rich and tackling inequality. She suggests that a mansion tax would have been a more effective way to raise revenue and reduce the gap between rich and poor.
The budget's announcement on council tax reform has also been met with skepticism, particularly since it does not go far enough in addressing the existing system. Sarah Nankivell argues that moving green policy costs off household bills is an important step towards reducing energy costs for consumers, but notes that there is still more work to be done.
Andy Summers, a tax expert, criticizes the budget's reliance on ad hoc revenue-grabs rather than principled efforts to reform the tax system. He argues that the government has failed to develop a comprehensive vision for a fair and efficient tax system, which would require major structural reforms to address the UK's growth problem.
Overall, while the Labour budget makes some positive steps towards addressing poverty and inequality, there is room for improvement in terms of ambition and scope. Critics are urging the government to do more to tackle the root causes of these issues, particularly through taxation and social policy reforms.
u no whats da deal wit dis labour budget tho? seems like dey tryna help low-income fams & young ppl but critics sayin it's not enough 2 address inequality, esp with tax & social policies 
dey wanna target rich ppl but not doin enuf. council tax reform is a joke, dey just movin green policy costs off household bills but not really fixin da problem 
and ad hoc revenue-grabs ain't gonna cut it, we need a comprehensive vision 4 a fair tax system 
... I mean, it sounds like a good concept but i think it could be super complicated to implement & might not even address the root cause of wealth inequality. What if it just pushed all that burden onto ordinary people's shoulders? 
I'd love to see some data on how much revenue would be generated from such a tax & whether it would have any tangible impact on inequality. Can we get some experts to weigh in on this one? 
But high-key confused by critics' lukewarm criticism 
Not just some ad hoc revenue-grabs 
Need more ambition & scope 
And btw, those who are struggling can't afford to care about mansion taxes 
But at the same time, I'm kinda underwhelmed by all the hand-wringing about not doing enough. Like, come on guys, it's 2025 – can we please just aim higher than "not bad, but could've been better"? 
The idea of a mansion tax is still super attractive to me btw... 
. I don't really understand why they can't just raise taxes on rich people, you know? It seems so unfair that they get to keep all their money and we're stuck with bills and stuff. My history teacher Mr. Johnson told us about how the UK used to have a more equal society back in the day 
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. And can we talk about council tax reform? It's all well and good moving green policy costs off household bills, but what about actually addressing the root issues? 
According to a recent report by the Resolution Foundation, households with incomes below £20k per year are already 2.5 times more likely to be living in multiple-deprivation areas compared to those earning over £60k 
But I'm also seeing some interesting data on how council tax reform could potentially reduce energy bills for UK households 
council tax reform is cool but lets not sugarcoat it, its just another way to stick it to the middle class 
gotta keep pushin for real change, not just more of the same old 
. It's all about striking a balance between making things better for those who need it most and tackling the root causes of these issues. Can't just slap some band-aids on problems like that 
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️. But, if we look at GDP growth rate (2.3%), it's still way lower than pre-pandemic levels (2.9%). Also, national debt is at £2trillion 
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The budget is trying to boost low-paid workers but we need more info on how many jobs will be created in the next few years (2025-2030) 
. It feels like the government's just trying to score some easy wins without actually addressing the real issues 
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. Still, I'm glad they're moving towards green policy costs being passed on to big energy companies instead of households 
