Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people?

The papers and media have  been running weeks of stories of higher taxes, on savings, on pensions, on private equity, on leaving money on death, on buying and owning property, on making profits on a business or from owning shares, At any point the Chancellor could have ruled out some or all of this speculation. Instead she seemed to delight in the array of ideas being generated to tax anyone more who dared to work hard, save more, succeed in business or own assets,

She has given interviews in the past querying tax breaks for ISA s, complaining of private equity carried interest, displaying a hostility to wealth creation and ownership. The only constraint on her wish to tax higher incomes, better pensions, more wealth may be the thought that putting the tax rates up too high could lead to a loss of revenue  and a further exodus from the country. This weak view of the Treasury does not extend to the valid view that lower tax rates on income, wealth and transactions can usually boost revenues.

It’s the politics of jealousy, the economics of misery. Offering people tax incentives through ISAs to save is a good idea. No need to discourage it. Making it attractive for private equity to invest here is good for jobs. Don’t send them abroad. Letting people build a decent pension pot allows them to look forward to retirement and avoid claims on the state. Why be jealous? Allowing relief from Inheritance tax for some U.K. assets encourages investment. Why risk it?

Tax rates are already too high in the U.K. Non Dom changes have driven rich people out. Tax changes to property is reducing the number of rented properties. Limits of tax relief for pensions led some like doctors to retire early. Tax rises will slow growth. Particularly clumsy ones will reduce tax receipts. As a supporter of the government’s faster growth aim I urge the Chancellor to think again before hitting the strivers, savers and investors.

114 Comments

  1. Lifelogic
    October 20, 2024

    The UK tax rates thanks to Cameron, Osborne May, Hammond, Boris, Sunak, Hunt
 and the insanity of the covid lockdowns and net harm covid vaccines are already way above the rates for maximum tax take. Further increases will reduce the tax take not increase it. It will also throttle growth and reduce the tax base for future years. With the insanity of net zero rip off energy piled on top of this and rigged markets in housing, healthcare, transport, education, energy, banking
 it is an economic doom loop.

    This government and Reeves are mad. They say they want growth but almost every single thing she and they push is anti-growth and against the people.

    Not of course that taxes should be fixed for maximum tax take or the Laffer point. They should be way below this at a level that means government can do only those rather few things that government can do best. Defence, law and order and not much more. 25% of GDP is plenty for this.

    1. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people? The evil politics of envy to buy votes I suppose. But not so much that they hate them as, like female mosquitos, leeches and lampreys, spiders
 see them as targets to be robbed of their blood and earnings and to bleed then to death.

      The problem with socialists is they soon run out of other people to bleed dry. They invariable waste all this stolen blood on damaging lunacies like net zero.

      See “Government Against the National Interest by David Starkey” video.

      1. Peter Wood
        October 20, 2024

        Weell, lets look at the data. https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/government-spending-to-gdp
        Now I’m for lower government involvement in the economy and lower taxes for all. Look at the USA lower down the chart.
        What Starmer and Reeves see is the ‘target’ ratio of the average of EU countries; even Germany is way above the UK. What we’re getting is a national economic reset based on left of centre, neo-socialist ideals, bringing us into line with the EU. We can then more easily rejoin and integrate. The fact that EU countries are suffering more than us really doesn’t matter. Does anybody think Starmer, Reeves and the Blob know how to run a ‘profitable’ economy?

        1. Lifelogic
          October 20, 2024

          25% is about right. But the UK has very high spending, very poor public services and much of the spending is hugely wasted or spent doing positive harms. Net zero, HS2, pointless worthless degree loans…

          Leaked papers reveal chaos at the heart of HS2 – well what a surprise! An insane project started by Labour and backed by Cameron, May, Boris, Sunak and Starmer! So are they morons or is it crony capitalism or even actually full corruption?

          1. Mickey Taking
            October 20, 2024

            Dozens of people with very high incomes will keep quiet about any problems, overspend, missed targets etc.

    2. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      The reason government should spend under 25% of GDP is simple. People and businesses on balance spend and invest their own money so much more wisely and efficiently than governments do. See Milton Freeman on the four types of money. As it is in the UK they are nearly spending 50% of GDP yet cannot even provide the very basics of good defence or law and order. They cannot even stop the boats and we have blatant two tier justice, shop lifting, phone thefts and muggings totally out of control with almost zero police inaction. Two tier justice even written into law. Misogyny a hate crime but not misandry for example, all women short lists, a minister for women and equality but not for men, RAF pilots no more useless white men


      31 Months in jail for a childish and no more than a foolish tweet (and she allegedly got 1/3 of for pleading guilty) that was rapidly withdrawn but a suspended sentence for 100+ shoplifting offences. Very little action against clearly anti-Semitic protests yet huge police action anything against anyone who think low skilled immigration is rather too high.

      If government spend only 25% of GDP and spent it well (and got out of the way of the productive) the GDP would of course be far higher circa 50-100% higher.

    3. Ian Wraggg
      October 20, 2024

      Liebour want everyone to rely on the state
      It’s called communism
      If they could get away with it they would allocate us a government funded stipend. The big but is no one would work to fund ot.
      This is admirably demonstrated by the welfare system. Pay the people not to work and they won’t.
      An unintended consequence is the rest of the world wants some of this largesse and are willing to risk their lives for it.

      1. Donna
        October 20, 2024

        Correct.

      2. Original Richard
        October 20, 2024

        IW :

        I agree except for your last sentence. Mass immigration, both legal and illegal, is intended and not stopped. They are international communists not national communists.

        1. Donna
          October 21, 2024

          That’s because they believe the only reason Socialism/Communism hasn’t worked is because it hasn’t been imposed everywhere at the same time.

    4. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      So Robert Jenrick is finally saying the right thinks now that he is past the MP voting state.

      “He has promised to tear up the Climate Change Act if he becomes Tory leader and eventually prime minister.

      He has said he will scrap major pieces of Blair and Brown era legislation including the Climate Change Act, Equality Act and Human Rights Act under a “Great Reform Act” if he makes it to No 10.

      His plans include scrapping carbon budgets and unburdening businesses of equality laws which have been criticised for driving positive discrimination and political correctness in the workplace.”

      A “great reform act” is indeed what is needed as Starkey suggests. Sort out Balir’s dire & botched devolution too. But I assume Jenrick voted for the Climate Change Act as nearly all MPs did (not JR) or was he not an MP at the time? And nodded through May’s moronic Net Zero insanity too.

      Reply Good that he has changed his mind. I am voting for Robert because he is setting out sensible policies on net zero, migration and growth.

      1. Lifelogic
        October 20, 2024

        Blair rather.

      2. Peter Gardner
        October 20, 2024

        The problem is that half the voters like these things, in some cases very passionately. They would riot. Remember Mrs T’s Poll Tax? It was actually a very reasonable idea but led to widespread rioting in protest by those accustomed to not paying for the local government services they use. The Tory Party is still ‘Broad Church’, meaning, in my view, it doesn’t stand passionately or strongly for anything. Whatever Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch may believe is the right thing to do, either is likely to face fierce opposition from within the party so it cannot have the backing needed for strong government.

        1. Lifelogic
          October 20, 2024

          The new poll tax is rip off Electricity and Gas standing charges why have charges for no energy risen so much? very unfair to the poor. They can wear more jumpers but can do little about these rip off charges for nothing. Rip off water and council tax charges too.

        2. IanT
          October 20, 2024

          I noted with interest that both leadership candidates mentioned returning MP nomination to the local associations – presumably because they know this would be popular with CP members. Even if they do so, they will still have to manage a group of current MPs, many of whom are Central Office ‘placemen’ (e.g. pseudo Lib Dems).

          The only reason the current Consvative Party is so “broad church” is because CPHQ believes it needs to be to win votes (and never mind what oikes out in the sticks think). But the local bien pensant have much better idea of what local voters might want than some 30 year old Hooray Henry with a 2nd class PPE degree…

        3. hefner
          October 20, 2024

          PG, So you found Mrs T’s Community Charge a very reasonable idea. Maybe you’ll also remember that Sir John was, as Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities, in charge of abolishing it in March 1991 (only effective in 1993)
. Oops!

          1. IanT
            October 20, 2024

            In the mid 70’s I had just purchased a small first home out in the West Midlands countryside. My girlfriend (now wife) rented a room in Birmingham, near where she worked. So one person with no children. Across the road was family of eight, of whom six were working, with two at school. They paid exactly the same rates as I did but consumed a great deal more. So yes, actually I thought it was a good idea… 🙂

          2. Clough
            October 20, 2024

            How did JR as Minister of Local Government and Inner Cities manage that in 1991, Hefner, when he only became Minister of Local Government and Inner Cities after the 1992 election (Wikipedia)?

          3. hefner
            October 20, 2024

            You’re right, wikipedia has it as ‘Redwood became Minister for LG and IC following the 1992 General Election, where he oversaw the abolition of the Community Charge, know colloquially as the ‘Poll Tax’, and its replacement by the Council Tax’.

            Reply I have got used to your lies about me. Please note Wikipedia is not a reliable source though it is right about when I became Minister of State in the DOE.

      3. Mickey Taking
        October 20, 2024

        we’ve had good intentions before, easy to say and promise, until placed in the hot seat.
        All rather late to come ‘clean’ and appear to be Party salvation.
        Blind faith is no good, actions will be required. Both last Governments are found wanting.

      4. Donna
        October 20, 2024

        Scrapping the Climate Change Act doesn’t mean he won’t still aim to deliver Net Zero. He has said that he will deliver Net Zero but not on the backs of ordinary people (or something very similar to that).

        The Climate Change Act created and empowered the Climate Change Committee which has the authority to instruct Governments on the staged reduction of carbon they must implement, and the Law can and is being enforced by the Judiciary (ie Lawfare).

        The Not-a-Conservative-Party is stuffed with people who are determined to deliver Net Zero. He won’t be allowed to scrap the policy because it is driven by the UN and WEF. He may, however, be allowed to scrap (or more likely amend) the Climate Change Act and create something more flexible …. although personally, I doubt it.

      5. Ian wragg
        October 20, 2024

        The problem is john his handlers won’t let him do any of that. Without a considerable cohort of Reform MPs there is little chance of any laws being repealed.
        You must also factor in any legislation brought in by the tories/Reform will be subject to endless lawfare objections unlike Starmers crowd .

      6. Roy Grainger
        October 20, 2024

        Even if Jenrick were elected and was serious about implementing those policies his own MPs would support them.

        Reply I agree with what you wrote. I suspect you left a word out.

        1. Mickey Taking
          October 20, 2024

          yes …NOT!

      7. The Prangwizard
        October 20, 2024

        Jenrick is saying what he hopes most people want, and will thus get him votes. If he wins, the chances are he will drop almost all when he comes up against opposition, which will be strong. He won’t fight.

        We need someone with powerfull principle, not an administrator.

        Reply Robert has come to good conclusions on migration and net ero.You should welcome that. He will stick to these views.

        1. Mickey Taking
          October 20, 2024

          reply to reply….rather late having an epiphany on conclusions?

      8. Sharon
        October 20, 2024

        LL

        This all sounds incredibly positive, and in need of doing. Will he get it past the blob, the courts, the loony left? We saw the reaction to the EU referendum and then us leaving the EU.

    5. Dave Andrews
      October 20, 2024

      Government needs to be responsible for a bit more than that – children’s education and health services for example. Also healthcare for those whose condition has prevented them from earning a living, everyone else to go private with insurance schemes or crowd fund for lifestyle diseases.
      The government should phase out the state pension. After a century of occupational pension schemes, why are we still doing this? It’s not as if people’s taxes during employment pays for it, as the government of the day they voted for spent all their contributions in the years they were collected.

      1. hefner
        October 20, 2024

        DA, +1

        1. Sam
          October 21, 2024

          You actually are in favour of abolishing the State pension scheme hefner.
          I’m amazed but not all together surprised.

    6. Peter
      October 20, 2024

      Nine out of twenty three comments today.

      I note the reappearance of ‘drains’ further down after a long absence.

    7. Ed M
      October 20, 2024

      We all know Labour are rubbish. That’s not the point. The point is how we are going to rebuild the Tory Party and get back into power with a strong government.
      I wish people would stop going on about how rubbish Labour are. We already know it.

      1. beresford
        October 20, 2024

        Why do we want to rebuild the current Conservative party, which is hamstrung by its ‘wet’ MPs and a Central Office intent on parachuting more of them into safe seats? That is what I noted about Badenoch and Jenrick’s speeches at the GB News debate, the ‘problem’ is not how do we do what is good for Britain (end mass immigration, tone down Nut Zero) but how we destroy the only genuine right wing alternative and get ourselves back into the plush offices?

        1. Ed M
          October 21, 2024

          99.5% of politicians are ‘wets’ from one degree to another (and not condemning people). Someone who is not a wet is a true leader and they are rare. With real b-lls. Don’t confuse bravado with ‘b-lls.’ When people call other people ‘wets’ they are projecting their own insecurity onto others (that’s why I would never call another person a ‘wet’ – it’s a big sign of insecurity which is a sign of being ‘wet’ – it’s also very self-regarding and divisive which a strong leader is not).
          A true Tory would have supported the High Tech Industy and the Car Industry (instead of over-focusing on financial and consumer markets). The North of England. Brought down immigration. Reintroduced National Service (to a degree). Supported Brexit but only when we had a strong economy and with a proper plan and leader in place to implement it. Etc. Not easy. But that is why vast majority of people including Tories are wets from one degree to another.

        2. Ed M
          October 21, 2024

          This country has a great future!
          But we need to attract stronger Tories into the Party.
          I’m optimistic. But we need to stop banging on about how rubbish Labour are (we all know that). We need some CREATIVITY and PASSION. To EXCITE people / voters.

    8. MFD
      October 20, 2024

      The politicians now are out and out communists who are just brutal and nasty.

      we need to revolt and make sure they get their filthy hand on as little as possible, Stop work and start bargaining one skill against the other, un recorded so they cannot get tax!

  2. agricola
    October 20, 2024

    Governments, and more so the current one, hates strivers, savers, and successful people because they see them as the whores they cannot live without. Additionally they increase the gratification they take by abusing them, a manifestation and increase in the pleasure they take. They transfer their guilt to the whores for having the temerity to survive. The half intelligent in government come to realise that their excessive self gratification destroys the prostitution they depend on. I think that is sufficient metaphor to explain your question.

    You may have done it in micro dots over the years, but now you have no loyalties to answer to, what is your manifesto vision for a future UK.

    1. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      Not sure I like the prostitute analogy much. More of a parasitic, blood sucking and often actually killing or pushing overseas the victims or perhaps they just work less arrangement. Not a “sustainable” plan. I though they liked “sustainability”.

      If one parent of two children at private school decided to work say £100k PA less PA and send them to state schools rather than pay the VAT then it is likely the state will lose about £50k in tax, have to pay out about 24k in state school costs and will get probably less well educated pupils plus no VAT so £74k down for the state. Yet Reeves seems to think this will raise money? Same for Hunts and Reeves Non Dom abolition lunacy They even lie that it is a “tax break” for private schools. Just as Osborne lied that interest relief for landlords was a “tax break”.

      1. agricola
        October 20, 2024

        LL,

        Is it because the analogy too accurately describes governments past and present that eight submissions with the usual condemnation of vaccines only nibble at.

  3. Mark B
    October 20, 2024

    Good morning.

    Tax rates are already too high in the U.K.

    Yes ! Thanks to who ? 😉

    It is not just tax, but also a mirriad of other little things, such as ‘fiscal drag’. You know, when a government freezes the point at which tax has to be paid. Then there are the various rates, such as fuel on cars. These too are frozen and do not keep in line with price rises. And one could go on.

    All this is slowly draining money away from those who produce reducing the energy to drive the economy and push up the mythical GDP figure. So their answer is to import more people who consume more resources, usually State resources such as the NHS, which in turn costs money which the government has to borrow because it is not getting enough in taxes.

    And so the circle / loop of economic decline goes on until the Markets say enough is enough. Then reality sets in.

    It is all a question of when ?

    1. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      Thanks to whom? Well Osborne, Hammond, Sunak, Hunt mainly and the insane lockdowns and net harm vaccines.

      The tax increase are vast.

      Stamp duty was 1% tops now 15% tops, IPT insurance tax 0% now 12%, no longer CGT indexation, Brown and other pension muggings, frozen and cut personal allowances, loss of child benefit and personal allowances at £50k and £100k, the 45% income tax rate, CT up 25%, NI both up, CGT up to 28% flight taxe was zero now can be 50% of the cost of the flight, council tax up, single person discount reduced, tax still charge on vacant period too, car taxes and car mugging up hugely, “congestion tax, ULEZ tax, parking taxes, enveloped dwelling taxes 
 endless tax grabs everywhere you look. Yet public services are dire and declining!

      1. Colin
        October 20, 2024

        And let’s not forget some notable Tory Government wealth taxes: the car tax premium on ICE cars costing more than £40k (effective from April 2017) and the second home premium (a doubling of Council tax in England from April 2025).

        1. Lifelogic
          October 20, 2024

          Indeed many other tweaks to grab more tax too. The overlap rules when sell one home to buy another for example, the time you have to file CGT returns, fees for probate, land registry etc.

      2. A-tracy
        October 20, 2024

        NI isn’t up the Tories decreased it considerably, you chose not to notice, so now it appears it can rise with ease.

        1. Lifelogic
          October 20, 2024

          They put it up first then decreased it slightly before the election and also applied it to all other employment benefits medical cover, cars
 though not free tickets or glasses for MPs which are tax and NI free.

          1. a-tracy
            October 21, 2024

            It didn’t decrease slightly; it decreased substantially, nearly 30% from the highest point because the NI threshold increased from ÂŁ9880 to ÂŁ12,570 on July 6, 2022.

            Nor pension contributions for now.

  4. Everhopeful
    October 20, 2024

    Apparently Labour needs our money because it wants to “stabilise the economy” in order to “change Britain”.
    And of course it has been handed a huge, weird majority so to do by all those who were so desperate for “change”!
    I’d say that it wants us poor so it can exert maximum control over us.

    1. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      They just want our money so they can piss it down the drain doing positive harm with mad things like net zero, to help their union backers plus much other crony capitalism.

      1. Lifelogic
        October 20, 2024

        Hotels and allowances for illegal immigrants arriving at up 900 a day costs a bit too.

        1. Everhopeful
          October 20, 2024

          Exactly.
          And when we are focussing only on where the next crust is coming from and how to stop the snow coming in the broken roof and we are cold and ill with no recourse to health services
we will be too weak to put up any opposition.
          “Poverty, poverty knocks”
          And it suits them.
          For us that is


    2. Mickey Taking
      October 20, 2024

      Nothing weird about the majority, it simply spelled out the absolute revolt of opinion causing millions to stay home, a small percentage still voted for the silly Libdems, but 4m reached for Reform in the too-late hope for rescue.
      Thats what the last Government report card said.

    3. forthurst
      October 20, 2024

      First Past the Post creates weird outcomes as a matter of course, so actually not weird at all that sixty percent of the electorate bothering to vote and one third of those (20% of electorate) voting for Labour created a two thirds majority in parliament yet SJR does not think we need electoral reform.
      Unless either the discredited Tory party or the untried Reform party forges ahead during this parliament, then we will have a continuation of this dire government in five years time.
      Most people believe they can achieve better outcomes for themselves by spending more money and many assume the same thing applies to governance when in fact the government dissipates our resources tilting at windmills.

      1. Lifelogic
        October 20, 2024

        Not only does it give hugely unfair outcomes post the vote but it distorts the vote that are cast. If I voted in a Labour seat I would vote for the best option to evict them be it Tory, or Reform or even perhaps the dire Libdems and Greens and same the other way for anti-Tory voters. Or anti-SNP voters.
        y

  5. Rod Evans
    October 20, 2024

    Answering your question, Sir John. Why does government hate stivers, savers and successful people? I would offer the reason is, because such people are out of reach of government control. They are individuals that can and do have the means, which they have generated to make their own decisions and do their own thing, when they wish too.
    That state of ‘individualism’ is completely anathema to government control. It conflicts with their and micro management principles. That state knows best attitude, was developed in the last fifty years which coincides perfectly with the advancement (sic) of the EU and our time spent within it.
    Sadly, we are still in its influence unable to make our own laws and rules in line with our National best interest. We are still beholden to the EU priorities and locked into its international reach.
    The sooner we fully leave the EU, as was decided by the people back in 2016, the better off we will all be.

    1. Donna
      October 20, 2024

      Well said. My conclusion as well.

    2. Lynn Atkinson
      October 20, 2024

      That’s the nub of it. Independent people are to be feared if you are a budding communist state.

      1. MFD
        October 20, 2024

        I believe that is the correct answer, Lynn. Our present government is communist to the core, led by Stalin- oops! Starmer!

  6. Peter Gardner
    October 20, 2024

    Sir John asks, ‘Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people?’

    Because the Starmer’s Labour is socialist liberal authoritarian and wants equality of outcomes, what they on the Woke Left call equity. They have a choice of three options:
    1. The standard Do Nothing option
    2. Improve educational and skills standards of the less intelligent and less advantaged
    3. Squash those who would excel too much lest their success offends the low achievers.
    Their hatred of people who do not believe in Socialism is so great, Option 1 is not acceptable. Option 2 has already failed through poor state education, mass immigration instead of investing in skills development of native Brits. Option 3 is the easiest to implement and its destructiveness sates their hatred. It makes them feel good.

  7. Christine
    October 20, 2024

    It’s all part of the Great Reset to take wealth from the middle classes and give it to the less well off. Of course they and their cronies won’t suffer. My hard earned money isn’t mine to do with as I please. I could bet it all on a horse but I’m not allowed to gift it to my children. Total nonsense. Just read all the latest Pacts coming out of the United Nations and you will see their intentions to destroy generational wealth.

    1. Mickey Taking
      October 20, 2024

      Middle classes? Any slight possibility of improving status for the low incomes but hard working and the young families trying to get on in life are going to be crushed. All state services are being restricted and allowed to grow even more inefficient, the objective being to acclimatise the people to a poorer quality of life forcing a disillusioned population to become apathetic.

      1. Wanderer
        October 20, 2024

        Yes MT, the working class is getting poorer fast, and ever more reliant on worsening public services.

    2. Donna
      October 20, 2024

      Correct. It’s “levelling down” in action.

    3. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      Well currently you are allowed to give it to anyone tax free so long as you live seven years PETs. You can take life cover if in good health to cover this quite cheaply. You can also give regular gifts from surplus income (without the seven years issue) and trading companies & some AIM listed companies, farm land… can be exempt.

      But in two weeks time after Reeves thieving budget who knows?

    4. beresford
      October 20, 2024

      Can you transfer your wealth to your children by making large unwise wagers with them? Like England to win any major football trophy.

      1. Narrow Shoulders
        October 20, 2024

        Unfortunately not because they are probably not licenced so it would not be recognised

    5. Timaction
      October 20, 2024

      Dripfeed and cash/gold springs to mind plus a bad memory with no records. Stops Government theft.

  8. David Andrews
    October 20, 2024

    I think the answer to the question you pose is, in part, a mixture of the politics of envy (of the better off), of ignorance (of what drives business activity and growth) and of addiction (to the mistaken belief that high government spending is a cost free option).

    1. Ian wragg
      October 20, 2024

      You say envy of the better off but all the protagonists are better off. All the grifters in the liebour party want to shore up their wealth and position funded by the little people.
      Look at free beer, no idea Kier and his special pension. Some are more equal than others.

  9. Paul Freedman
    October 20, 2024

    The Chancellor needs to be focusing on cutting central and local government waste and inefficiency and reducing everyones taxes – not sustaining all that and raising taxes to pay for even more of it.
    If we go on with perenial waste and inefficiency Britain will inevitably go bankrupt just like it did in the 1970’s – queuing up with Third World countries for a loan from the IMF. That was a disgrace then and we are on course for it happening again, eg the next attack on Britain by our enemies in the form of another pandemic or a huge cyber attack could very well bankrupt us right there and then. If its not that, it will be the longer-term retardation of the economy by Socialism.
    The State is far too big and the tax burden and sovereign debt levels are dangerously high. If the Chancellor cant see the urgent need to address this then she is unworthy of her job.

    1. Lifelogic
      October 20, 2024

      “The Chancellor needs to be focusing on cutting central and local government waste and inefficiency and reducing everyone’s taxes”

      That would be rather a novelty! When did we have have that? Slightly under Thatcher I suppose buy not much.

  10. Richard1
    October 20, 2024

    Indeed. I am interested to see what Labour’s first pro-growth policy will be. So far there have only been anti-growth measures, and especially signalling.

  11. J+M
    October 20, 2024

    The Labour Party has always espoused the politics of envy, spite and hatred. When did you last see Conservative Party supporters outside a Labour Party conference screaming hatred and spitting at people entering and leaving? Their attitude is that if you have a lot of money it is somehow undeserved and should be taken from you. The idea that you might have worked bloody hard and saved it does not occur to them. It is merely unfair that you have more than others do. The fact that the Prime Minister has a pension pot that is so large that it had to be protected by legislation is an irony that escapes them. After all, some animals are more equal than others.

  12. Everhopeful
    October 20, 2024

    What is the difference between a fee paying school and a charity funded single sex school?
    Very little I would suggest.
    The aim of both ( unlike state schools) is to establish a fast track to Oxbridge and provide a priviledged future for their pupils.
    Yet one is demonised and taxed and ( I think) stripped of its charitable status and the other enabled to produce “leaders”.
    Who then proceed to pull up the ladder!

    1. hefner
      October 20, 2024

      commonslibrary.parliament.uk 04/10/2024 ‘Independent schools: taxation and charitable status’.

      1. hefner
        October 20, 2024

        education hub.blog.gov.uk 06/09/2024 ‘VAT on private schools: Everything you need to know’.

        1. Everhopeful
          October 20, 2024

          I was considering the school attended by our Chancellor and then thinking about VAT!
          And of course the ever present desire to destroy “privilege”
or at least some
but definitely not all!

  13. Donna
    October 20, 2024

    Why? I think there are two reasons:

    1. Socialist Governments are always in the business of “levelling down.” That is what redistribution of wealth, according to their perception of who is deserving, means ….. taking from those who have provided for themselves and giving it to those who haven’t for whatever reason. They justify it with nice words like “sharing, helping, fairness.”

    2. Because people who are independent, resilient, successful, adaptable and take responsibility for providing for themselves and their family are more likely to be independent-thinkers and are far less reliant on the State.

    They are therefore far harder to control.

    The Government (on behalf of the WEF) wants a population which is none of those things and is therefore entirely dependent on the State and easy to control.

    1. Sharon
      October 20, 2024

      @Donna

      And by taxing these independent individuals from every direction, gradually taking everything from them, breaks their spirits!

      Revolting people, these socialists.

      1. Donna
        October 21, 2024

        Yes, demoralisation is a significant part of the process they are applying.

  14. Bryan Harris
    October 20, 2024

    It’s the politics of jealousy, the economics of misery.

    Exactly so, that defines the labour party, and why socialism means the death of anything good. But mix that with another irrational ideology, netzero, and you have disaster.

    The claim is that under socialism we would all be equal – what they hide is that we would all be reduced to the lowest common denominator of survival – only the leaders would be rich. The masses would be simple poor uneducated peasants in the long term.

    Labour were supposed to be the party of the people. If they ever were then That has changed – they are the party for themselves, acting like petty dictators to impose their insanity on us. To re-engineer us back to a time when peasants didn’t question their betters, their masters.

    In the meantime we can expect more punishing taxes because labour hate the rich – unless it is themselves – because they now have the power and will use it to cement our decline. What else can they be doing with so many oppressive actions against ordinary people?

  15. Dave Andrews
    October 20, 2024

    The question might equally be levelled at the last government. Why for the entirety of their administration did they continue with employer’s NI? A tax designed to stifle British industry in favour of foreign companies, making them less competitive on the global market and against imports.
    The present government is worse than the last. They see employment through union eyes, as an adversarial relationship. They have no concept that small businesses treat their employees like family.

  16. Mark B
    October 20, 2024

    The Chancellor needs to be focusing on cutting central and local government waste and inefficiency and reducing everyones taxes

    This government, much like the last, is a Socialist government. They do NOT do that which you quite rightly describe.

    The State is far too big and the tax burden and sovereign debt levels are dangerously high. If the Chancellor cant see the urgent need to address this then she is unworthy of her job.

    None of them are worthy. But we get the government we deserve, although I cannot think on what we have done to get this sorry lot.

    Our only hope are the Markets. Once they smell economic blood in the water, they will soon bring this house of cards down.

  17. James1
    October 20, 2024

    They can’t help themselves. Raising taxes is in Labour’s DNA. It’s akin to watching clowns in a soap opera.

  18. beresford
    October 20, 2024

    I read that the Meloni policy of transferring illegals to Albania for processing is under attack from activist judges, who have ruled that they must be returned to Italy as Bangladesh and Egypt are not ‘safe countries’. Apart from Hungary, where Orban purged communist-era judges amid outrage from the EU, this entrenched globalism is a problem across Europe. Either we need to rebalance the judiciary to reverse measures such as the Blair reforms or the law needs to be changed to remove the rights of illegal immigrants to access the legal system.

  19. Original Richard
    October 20, 2024

    Why? Because as international communists they hate not simply “strivers, savers and successful people” but the whole country. The current PM and leader of the Uniparty has already told us he prefers Davos to Westminster.

    Mass immigration is designed to destroy our culture, cohesion and hence our nationhood. Diversity together with the encouragement of mass Illegal immigration is designed to cause resentment and social breakdown as well as making the country militarily insecure.

    Unilateral Net Zero is designed to destroy our prosperity. Even if they did believe in the UN’s false claim that anthropogenic emissions of CO2 has led us into an era of global boiling they wouldn’t sabotage our prosperity for our 1% contribution to CO2 emissions if they really cared for the people of this country. How can they claim that this 1% reduction through de-industrialisation will save the planet followed by CBAM to further crush our standard of living and emissions? Wouldn’t they take measures instead to mitigate the effects of an increase in the average global temperature currently running at 0.14 degrees C per decade?

    The reason for unilateral Net Zero has absolutely nothing to do with saving the planet from anthropogenic emissions of CO2. They want to end our prosperity.

    1. beresford
      October 20, 2024

      +1

    2. Donna
      October 21, 2024

      Agreed. They are carrying out a process of deliberate demoralisation of the English. The Scots, Welsh and Irish are allowed to be a nation, but not the English because we are a naturally conservative nation and have been identified as likely to resist the imposition of an “EU-style” global government.

      The next stage being implemented with no mandate is to break England into something approximating the kingdoms of Alfred the Great’s time. That is what regionalisation of England means – the latest proposition being called “The Heart of Wessex” to cover Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

      Then they intend to “reform” the House of Frauds and create a Federalised State. The prototype is the Council of the Nations and Regions which Sue Gray has just been appointed to.

      England is going to be wiped from the map. As it was when the EU announced that we would have “a Europe of the regions.”

  20. Ian B
    October 20, 2024

    “Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people?” As they will never support Labour who requires only those that are beholden to the State to exsist

  21. Ian B
    October 20, 2024

    “Letting people build a decent pension pot allows them to look forward to retirement and avoid claims on the state” Why is ‘Two Tier Kiers’ protected bu Law from Government/Treasury/His own Chancellors attacks and the pots of the Minions ‘Not’?
    As it is often said about Liebors one rule for them and another for the Surfs

    1. Ian B
      October 20, 2024

      Xxxx From the Telegraph, “Mark Drakeford, the Welsh secretary for finance, has defended his exemption from Wales’s second home council tax raid after owners of similar properties were forced to pay thousands of pounds more.”
      Now there is talk of those that work for the State and send their kids to Private/Public Schools being exempt from the ‘tax’. tax isn’t meant to hit those that are employed by the State

      1. Sharon
        October 20, 2024

        Ian B

        UKSSR here we come!

  22. A-tracy
    October 20, 2024

    The Ayn Rand institute says there are “two main types of characters: the creators, who work to achieve and produce values, and the looters, who do not produce and instead seek to take values from others.”

    If John allows here are the cliff notes for Atlas Shrugged https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/atlas-shrugged/about-atlas-shrugged

    All independent minds are to be closed down. Musk will be an example of this if Harris wins.

    As you know I’m not a fan of Farage but I hate the incitement to violence against this man. The encouragement to the educationally challenged to throw liquid over him and the glee with which those incidents are received by the mainstream is wrong. Its the same with those who hate on Tories like Braverman, Patel (that cartoon image of her should have been prosecuted), it seems that only those on the right wing get caught quickly and prosecuted strongly quickly. If this continues I can see a time when bloggers will all have to have speech insurance as only Ministers of the Crown seem to have freedom to mispeak

  23. Berkshire Alan
    October 20, 2024

    Why, because politicians appear not like people with wealth, because those people can do choose what they do, and do as they like (within the law) no matter how much Governments try to limit them.
    That is why Governments do not like self employment because those sort of people are difficult to control, so they do it by legislation and taxation.
    The problem is at what limit do you categorise someone as wealthy, as it seems to me that the bar is being lowered and lowered each year, so as to include more and more people just to raise more in taxes.

    The problem is that we have now reached a point where, nurses, teachers, railway workers and host of other what used to be normal type jobs, are being taxed at a higher rate, but are these people wealthy ?
    If you own a one bedroom flat inside the M25 worth more than ÂŁ325,000 are you wealthy ?
    If you have a pension pot of ÂŁ250,000 producing an income of perhaps ÂŁ10,000 a year are you wealthy.?
    What is the point of working hard, risk investing your own money in a business, if the Government are going to always take the largest share, and then tax what is left when you die.
    The government is destroying peoples work ethic, financial risk taking, because there is now little reward for such.

    1. Sam
      October 20, 2024

      Excellent post Alan.
      I agree with all you say.

  24. David Cooper
    October 20, 2024

    The Telegraph has today published a cartoon depicting the Chancellor as “Rachel Hood”. It would perhaps have been more accurate to depict her as “The Shadow” from Blackadder III; her likely attitude brings to mind Baldrick’s observation “half way to being a new Robin Hood – steals from the rich, but hasn’t got round to giving it to the poor”.

  25. Wanderer
    October 20, 2024

    Hands off my ISA! I put my working-life savings into ISAs rather than pensions, because pensions were already (and I felt were going to get) more regulated than ISAs. As a lower rate taxpayer all my life the tax relief on pensions wasn’t enough bait to go down the pension route, with the limits on what you could take out etc. I saved hard, restraining my spending on any luxuries.

    Now I live in fear that my life savings are going to be taxed again. To add insult to injury, I’m characterised as a rich fat cat that should “pay back” some of its ill-gotten wealth to those “less fortunate” (i.e. the lazy and spendthrift, illegal migrants etc) and “contribute to society” (e.g. HS2, Ukraine and the Third World, Quangos, bureaucracy etc). Ouch!

  26. Roy Grainger
    October 20, 2024

    I think the answer to your question is that not a single member of the cabinet has ever worked for or owned a private sector business. Not one of them. What is curious is that Starmer’s stated aim is growth but not a single one of his actual policies will increase growth. That’s with the exception of his proposed planning reforms which of course will be scuppered by NIMBY MPs and local politicians of all parties.

  27. Joan Sawyers
    October 20, 2024

    The politics of envy, instead of trying to raise everyone’s aspiration to better themselves, they just want to bring everyone down to the lowest level, that way you are reliant on the government for everything and they have complete control over your life.

    1. Mickey Taking
      October 20, 2024

      …and you will own nothing!

  28. ChrisS
    October 20, 2024

    The answer is simple, just two words :

    Greed and Envy

  29. Narrow Shoulders
    October 20, 2024

    There are more people without money than with money.

    The left believe in levelling down so will always talk about those with the broadest shoulders bearing the load, this appeals to the majority so the Conservative and the right also need to use this redistribution language. Both parties know they have run out of money so have started to talk about growth as well to pay for their promises.

    To get elected parties have to promise to make others pay for their largesse ergo they hate (but love the existence of) savers, strivers and successful people.

    Thus government may be the one that plucks too many feathers from the golden geese

  30. RichardP
    October 20, 2024

    It’s not just the attack on strivers, savers and successful people, the Globalist Uni-Party wants to destroy Britain.
    I’ve regarded the government as hostile ever since the Johnson Regime used Orwellian pseudoscience to lock us all down.

    1. Donna
      October 20, 2024

      I’ve regarded it as hostile ever since they defenestrated Margaret Thatcher in order to install a PM who would sign the Maastricht Treaty.

      We have the late Sir James Goldsmith and the Referendum Party he bankrolled, to thank for the Euro opt-out.

  31. javelin
    October 20, 2024

    The public have had it easy for too long.

    What I mean by that is QE has allowed Governments to slowly deflate the economy without the public noticing. Which means there has not been a crisis or large scale unemployment.

    So off the back of that the Government have inflated the state and increased debt by not encouraging saving for pensions, importing millions of low paid migrants, not stopped social media causing mental health problems, using the luxury beliefs of migration and net zero to virtue signal.

    In otherwords it is the natural progress of politicians without external pressures to create a state with unsustainable latent debt and risk.

    We have got out selves into a situation where any collapse in revenue will realise the risks and increase the cost of the debt. The larger problem is that this will hurt pensioners, create a need for visa cancellations and criminal deportations, reverse luxury human rights and significantly reduce the standard of living.

  32. Derek
    October 20, 2024

    It is odd that the Labour Chancellor attacks the “rich” when her boss is one of them.
    How will Mr Starmer dodge the new taxes planned for him and all of the other millionaires who reside here? Or will he be excused because he is a socialist?

    1. Original Richard
      October 20, 2024

      Derek :

      Didn’t Mr. Starmer get some special treatment for his DPP pension?

      And I read that Mark Drakeford, the Labour Welsh secretary for finance, “has defended his exemption from Wales’s second home council tax raid…”

      “The creatures outside looked from pig to man and from man to pig and from pig to man again but already it was impossible to say which was which”

  33. MBJ
    October 20, 2024

    I am British.This I my country too.I was brought up to appreciate every little aspect of consumption.Our home philosophy was, particularly with food, dignity and an elegant sufficiency of enoughness.For growth however ,we have the brashness of overspend.In other words too much of everything.This has only happened in the last 30 years and people and markets have ballooned beyond a reasonable way of life.We can’t keep up with the greed financially and the expectations of the masses.
    This materialism and greed attracted people’s from all over the world and it takes the individual to put it right and furthermore against all jealous and competitive gamesmanship.
    As some have said ,a few slog whilst others take the credit and take a share of the profits which they themselves are not capable of manufacturing.

  34. JayCee
    October 20, 2024

    The current Chancellor is still in thrall to the Socialist ideals espoused by the academic establishment who still see capitalism as the subjugation of the workers by the bosses.

  35. John Hatfield
    October 20, 2024

    ” As a supporter of the government’s faster growth aim I urge the Chancellor to think again before hitting the strivers, savers and investors.”
    John, faster gowth in the public sector is what they mean. Paid for by the folks you mention.

  36. J.A.+Burdon-Cooper
    October 20, 2024

    Aim should be Highest Common Factor, not Lowest Common Denominator!
    I have spent all my life trying to encourage everyome to aspire to the highest potential they wish to achieve, set up new companies providing jobs and products people want, and it is all being thrown back in our faces. I used to be Proud of being both British and Scottish, it is difficult t keep that up, although all the latent potential is still there.
    The Conservative party and Blob took lttle notice of Sir Johns wise and experienced advice, so have to take some blame. What hope can we still have?

  37. formula57
    October 20, 2024

    This government can only do so much and ” strivers, savers and investors” if considered at all are far behind the public sector parasites, welfare scoungers and bogus asylum seekers that the Labour Party champions.

  38. hefner
    October 20, 2024

    O/T but of interest to some here: economist.com ‘Putin’s plan to defeat the dollar’, 20/10/2024.

  39. Original Richard
    October 20, 2024

    “Why does the government hate strivers, savers and successful people?”

    Because, as in all things, the fifth column Communists are intent on turning everything upside down. They see the way to power through the institution of a topsy-turvy world where the feckless are rewarded and the “strivers, savers and successful people” are penalised. Democracy, the rule by the majority is replaced by the rule of the minorities through the Human Rights Act and the rule by Parliament, where everyone is represented, is replaced by the unelected ECHR judges and the unelected Civil Service, quangos, regulators, tax-payer funded pressure groups, “charities”, institutions and judiciary.

  40. Linda Brown
    October 22, 2024

    Labour people are a lot of bums who despise anyone who wants to get on by working hard and owning their own homes or even a second home to enjoy for weekends and summer holidays. They have been at it for ever and a day. I was born just after the last War and was lucky enough to pass for grammar school in a labour county. However, the labourites were not happy until they closed it down (just after I completed my education there I am pleased to say) and since it has been a sports academy and numerous other unsuccessful outlets of what they call education. Now they have knocked the lovely buildings down and put up a wooden box type of thing which is still as unsuccessful as what replaced a fine educating building which sent ordinary children to Oxford University as well as Birmingham University nearby, both Russell Group universities. Well done Labour long may you continue to stop children getting a good education which leads to a good career.

Comments are closed.