Coun Steven Leigh: Labour have no economic plan

Coun Steven Leigh, writes: For me and for many residents in Calderdale this comes as no surprise. Labour’s mismanagement of Calderdale Council has shown us time and again that they have no grasp of how to run a local economy, deliver better public services, or balance the books. Now, the entire country is learning the same lesson under this Labour government.

The most recent data shows that the UK economy only grew by 0.1 per cent in November, after contracting by 0.1 per cent in both October and September. This means less money will be available for public services, some businesses are already closing, unemployment will increase, and living standards will stagnate.

Furthermore, the government’s borrowing costs have also reached a 25-year high. This means higher debt costs for taxpayers with government debt interest payments expected to exceed £100bn this year and now the £9.9bn headroom in the Chancellor’s budget has been wiped out.

The current economic woes are creating a vicious circle because to cover these costs from the stagnating economy and the increased debt payments, the government will have to either to cut spending on public services or raise taxes further. But there is no appetite for further spending cuts and raising taxes will deter business investment even more, restrain consumer spending, and further erode confidence in this already weak Labour government.

Nevertheless, things are set to worsen in April when the Employer National Insurance hike finally kicks-in. The rate will increase by 1.2 per cent and the threshold income level is dropping from £9,100 to £5,000 per annum. Business will pass on this tax through increased prices or will cut costs which likely means redundancies. There is no doubt that this will disproportionately hit those on low-income (as confirmed by the OBR).

But the overall fundamental problem driving this crisis is that Labour has no credible economic plan. Their Budget relied entirely on tax-and-spend policies, yet the spending included no meaningful measures to drive economic growth. Additionally, increased NHS funding should have been conditional upon reassurances that the money will be spent wisely to boost productivity in public services.

The Labour government claims to want economic growth, but clearly their actions have had the opposite effect. Their only serious attempt to attract investment was a trip to China, which concluded with a £600m investment deal over five years. This sum is relatively insignificant – when set against a government Budget of £1.3trillion. This is not worth the risk – China’s is guilty of serious human rights abuses and is a security threat.

Public confidence in this government is waning, and businesses and investors are rapidly losing faith. We need a dynamic, entrepreneurial economy – not a socialist experiment. If Keir Starmer is serious about growing the economy, he needs to ditch his Chancellor and appoint someone with real-world experience.