The new government leftist of United Kingdom He said on Sunday that the country is “ruined and broken,” blaming the situation on his predecessors ahead of a major speech on the state of public finances, which is expected to set the stage for a rise of taxes.
In a comprehensive analysis three weeks after taking power, the prime minister’s office, Keir Starmerexpressed his dismay at the situation they have found after 14 years of governments of the Conservative Partyand published a study by departments on the mistakes they consider were made by the government former.
The criticism was known the day before the head of the Treasury, Rachel Reeveswill detail a deficit £20 billion ($26 billion) public debt during a speech to the House of Commons.
“We will not be afraid to be honest with the public about the reality of what we have inherited,” he said in a statement. Pat McFaddena prominent member of the new government. “We put an end to the false promises that the British and we will do whatever it takes to fix it. United Kingdom“.
He Labor Party Starmer won by a landslide the elections this month after a campaign in which critics accused both parties of maintaining a “conspiracy of silence” over the scale of the financial challenges facing the next government.
Labour promised during the campaign that they would not raise the taxes to the “workers” and claimed that their policies would bring a growth faster economic growth and would generate the additional income needed for the government. The conservativesfor their part, promised further tax cuts in the autumn if they remained in power.
As proof that the government Previously, Starmer had not been candid about the challenges facing the country, but Starmer’s office cited recent comments by the former Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt which confirmed that it would not have been possible to reduce the taxes This year if the conservatives would have been re-elected.
The remarks were made in an interview with the BBC in which Hunt also accused Labour of exaggerating the situation to justify a rise of taxes Now that they have won the elections.
“The reason we’re getting all this talk about this terrible economic legacy is because Labour wants to raise the taxes“Hunt said on July 21. “If they wanted to go up taxesall the numbers were crystal clear before the elections (…) They should have been honest with the British people.”
The audit of expenses
He government released an overview of the spending audit commissioned by Reeves shortly after taking office on Sunday. The secretary will present the report complete to Parliament on Monday.
These findings led to the new government to accuse the conservatives to make significant promises of financing for this fiscal year “without knowing where the money would come from.”
He Armyhe noted, was “emptied” at a time of growing global threats, while the National Health Service was “broken” and some 7.6 million people were waiting for treatment.
And despite the billions spent to accommodate migrants and fight the gangs criminals who carry migrants Across the English Channel in dangerous inflatable boats, the number of people making the crossing continues to grow, Starmer said. Some 15,832 people have crossed the channel in small boats this year, 9% more than in the same period in 2023.
“The analysis will show that United Kingdom It is ruined and broken, showing the mess that the populist politics in the economy and public services,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
The position in which the government It’s not a surprise, he said. Paul Johnsondirector of the Institute for Fiscal Studiesan independent think tank focusing on British economic policy.
When it started election campaignthe institute said that United Kingdom was “in a dangerous fiscal position” and that the next government I would have to upload taxeseither cut spending or relax rules on indebtedness public.
“If a game “If a US president came to power and then declared that things were ‘worse than expected’ it would be deeply dishonest,” the IFS said on May 25. “The next government You do not need to take up the position to open the accountsthose accounts are published in a way transparent and are available for everyone to consult.”
