Liz Truss’s New Economic Agenda Looks a Lot Like the Labour’s

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, who lost to Ms. Truss in the party leadership contest last summer, became a symbol of that tax loophole because his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of an Indian technology billionaire, used so-called non-domicile status to avoid paying millions of pounds in taxes.

Such is the scale of the challenge faced by Mr. Hunt that he has no choice but to make unpalatable decisions, like adopting policies that Ms. Truss had, until recently, derided. As a potential candidate for party leader, Mr. Hunt himself proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent. Now, it will rise to 25 percent.

“Whether it’s Labour’s ideas or anybody else’s ideas, the best he can do is to steady the ship to stop it sinking further,” said Steven Fielding, emeritus professor of politics at the University of Nottingham. But he added, “It’s a win-win for Labour because anything that the Conservatives do that looks like they are stealing Labour’s clothes adds credibility to Labour.”

Because Labour looks increasingly likely to win the next general election, the party is now facing more scrutiny in the news media over how it would balance the books. In addition to the windfall profits tax on energy firms and the end of concessions to taxpayers, Ms. Reeves also talks about trying to recover government money lost to fraud during the pandemic. But that seems unlikely to raise significant amounts.

In a speech at his party conference last month, Mr. Starmer warned that an incoming Labour government would face tough choices in an era when money for government spending programs will be tight. While Labour’s members are demanding a quick general election, they are doing so with the confidence that the Tories are so far behind in the polls that they will never agree to it.

“Labour must be praying that the Conservatives aren’t going to be mad enough to call an election, and they are probably hoping that Jeremy Hunt can sort out at least some of this mess before they take it over,” Professor Fielding said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/world/europe/uk-liz-truss-economy-labour.html