Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
Well, NIESR’s not going to recommend cutting spending now, are they. Come on…..
If it moves, tax it.
So there’s now a £50bn “black hole” when they allegedly inherited a £22bn one.
I wonder what caused the slowing economic growth and weak jobs market? Taxing jobs more leading to less of them, whodathunkit?
If it moves, tax it.
And if it doesn’t move, tax it.
You have to hand it to Starmer and Reeves. They said it was all about growth, and growth is just what they got. They started with the “alleged” £20 billion black and grew it into their very own £50 billion black hole.
Yep, really impressive growth there. But apparently things can only get better.
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
― Ronald Reagan
What is this ‘£22 bn / £59 bn, black hole’ nonsense? This mob borrowed £148 billion in the last financial year,
they’ve borrowed £57.8 billion in the first three months of this financial year including £22 billion in June 2025 alone.
‘Tim Wallace Deputy Economics Editor. Dan Martin. Madeleine Ross Money Reporter
06 August 2025 12:01am BST
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances’
According to The Telegraph. Why do you need Reeves? Why do you need Mickey Mouse Club (NIESR)? The Tele is happy to run everything.