Author: Miles Donavan

Labour have highlighted the need for tough choices After the Labour government came to power, the party has made no secret of the fact that difficult choices will have to be made on taxation and public spending, after inheriting a far worse set of public finances from the Tories than initially imagined. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has highlighted how there was a £22bn financial black hole left in the economy after the Tories left office and earlier this week unveiled a budget that included tax rises as well as investment in public services and an increase in the minimum wage to…

“Did Labour want that inheritance? Absolutely not.” The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones took apart a Tory MP on the BBC Question Time panel yesterday for wrecking the economy and leaving Labour with a disastrous inheritance. Jones appeared on the panel as he defended the Labour government’s first budget after its election win, saying that difficult choices had to be made after the government was left with a £22bn financial black hole by the last Tory government. As Tory MP Andrew Griffith took aim at the budget, Jones replied: “I worked well with Andrew Griffith on the Science…

The government will need to abandon Tory economic policies, redistribute income and wealth, eradicate poverty, strengthen worker rights, and take essential services in public ownership. Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. After 14 years of Conservative rule with never-ending austerity, record queues at hospitals, crumbling infrastructure and the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s, re-steering the UK economy was never going to be an easy task for the new Labour government.…

Ofcom has opened 19 investigations against GB News, and found the group to be in breach 12 times. UK media watchdog Ofcom has fined GB News £100,000 for giving Rishi Sunak an uncontested platform, in what is the first financial sanction against the right-wing channel which has repeatedly breached the UK broadcasting code. Ofcom announced today that its investigation had found that a live, hour-long programme in February where viewers quizzed Sunak failed to meet the impartiality requirements for a current affairs show.It stated: “Ofcom’s earlier investigation found that an appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints was not presented and…

Without reform, the government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament will remain out of reach, and the housing crisis will continue to deepen. Christopher Worrall is a housing columnist for LFF. He is on the Executive Committee of the Labour Housing Group, Co-Host of the Priced Out Podcast, and Chair of the Local Government and Housing Member Policy Group of the Fabian Society.  A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request has laid bare a significant bottleneck in the UK’s building safety approval process, particularly concerning high-risk buildings. Between October 2023 and September 2024, the Building…

With economists and analysts still digesting Labour’s first budget in 14 years, one thing is becoming increasingly clear, those on lower incomes stand to benefit the most while the wealthiest households will pay the most. Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out plans yesterday to get Britain’s economy growing again, investing in public services which had been neglected under the Tories. Labour announced a 6.7% hike in the minimum wage, which will benefit millions of low-paid workers, while the budget also saw a £22bn increase in the day-to-day budget of the NHS. Other measures included committing to the largest increase in Carers…

MPs on the left have responded to Labour’s budget MPs from across the political spectrum have been responding to the first Labour budget in 14 years announced by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves today. Here’s a quick rundown of what parties on the left have said about Labour’s budget. The Green Party While the Greens have praised some elements of the budget, they’ve been critical of it overall, with the party’s co-leader Carla Denyer saying that Reeves delivered ‘half measures’. She tweeted: “We needed a Budget to build a fairer society and a greener economy. The chancellor had the option to…

“Today’s budget is a vital first step towards the growth, jobs and living standards working people desperately need.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves today delivered her first budget since Labour entered government earlier this year. Being Labour’s first budget in 14 years, it has naturally attracted significant public discussion and reaction from across the political spectrum. The UK’s trade unions are among the organisations to issue extensive responses to the budget. And, in general, the budget has been welcomed by the labour movement. Giving an overall verdict on the budget, the GMB union’s general secretary Gary Smith said:…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves laid out her plans to rebuild Britain once more, as she set out Labour’s policies to repair public services, help those struggling to make ends meet and repair the economy. Today was a day many in the Labour Party had been waiting for. Labour’s first budget in 14 years and the first ever delivered by a female Chancellor. Following 14 years of stagnant wages, falling living standards and poor productivity, after the Tories took a wrecking ball to the economy, today was the day that the Labour government set out its plans to repair public finances, grow…

As a result of the increase in the minimum wage, more than 3 million low-paid workers are in line for a pay rise. Ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget, the Labour government has announced a pay boost for millions of working people with a 6.7% rise in the minimum wage. The minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour next year as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, confirmed a 6.7% increase ahead of Wednesday’s Budget. The minimum wage for over 21s, known officially as the National Living Wage, will rise from £11.44 to £12.21 from April 2025. For…