The Spectator newsletter reports:
Institute for Fiscal Studies accused the Chancellor [Rachel Reeves] of ‘fiscal fiction’ after choosing to backload tax rises and spending squeezes just before voters go to the polls in 2029. The thinktank also highlighted problems with the government’s planned provisions for children with special needs after the Office for Budget Responsibility spotted a potential £6 billion funding shortfall.
In what might come to be known as a 'Reeves Reaming' of the British taxpayer, people are getting wise to 'backloading'.
But in fact it's nothing new.
Politicians are always promisng stuff in 5-10 years time, safe in the knowledge that:
- Unlike Putin or Xi, they won't be around when its time to deliver
- Whoever is around can backtrack on delivery by saying they were not the ones who promised it
Clever chaps these politicians.