Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Not even ‘working people’ will be protected from tax hikes

Rachel Reeves (Credit: Getty images)

Does Labour regret its decision to redefine the meaning of a ‘working person’? The original understanding of the term seemed to be working just fine, until ministers decided to make it the metric for who would and would not be subject to tax rises. Now the party finds itself in the strangest of situations: having to talk down British entrepreneurs and employers, all for the sake of muddling through a painful Budget next week.

It was just a few weeks ago that Labour was hosting its highly anticipated investment summit, trying to attract new business, and funding, to the UK. When former Google CEO Eric Schmidt told the Prime Minister he was ‘shocked’ that Labour wanted to opt for supply-side reforms and go for growth, Starmer decided to add to his dismay, noting that ‘wealth creation is the number one mission of a Labour government’.

The phrase ‘working people’ has only drawn more attention to who is about to see their tax burden rise

It’s not the first time Starmer has spoken about the importance of ‘wealth creation’ under his leadership then.

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