Reeves announced on Monday, among other things, that a number of planned road and hospital developments will be dropped or postponed, and that millions of pensioners will lose their energy subsidies for the winter. They will now only go to those who need it most.
– If this gap is not covered, the budget deficit would increase by 25 per cent this year, says Reeves and warns of difficult decisions ahead both in terms of cuts and possible tax increases.
– The former conservative government of Rishi Sunak has avoided difficult elections and put the party ahead of the nation. They continued with one expensive promise after another, even though they knew there was no money, she says.
Among other things, the previous government has spent 6.4 billion pounds on the asylum system for which there is no coverage, among other things related to the canceled project of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. Not all the expenses of the war in Ukraine are covered either.
At the same time, Reeves announced agreements on pay increases for large groups of public employees such as teachers and doctors. Most important, she says, is an agreement with the doctors’ unions to end long-term strikes in the health sector.
The deficit on the British national budget has now reached almost 100 per cent of the country’s gross national product, the highest level since the 60s.
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2024-07-29 20:21:50
