A Budget containing a raft of stealth taxes will have a detrimental effect on the economy, Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly has said.
He told GB News: “Well, I think the problem that we’re going to see is a whole load of stealth taxes. Rachel Reeves had, I mean, she said last year that this was a one-off, big tax increases, and she wouldn’t have to come back for more. We now know she’s going to come back for more.
“She’s going to go after all kinds of people. She’s going to go after savers. She’s going to go after business people. She’s going to go after property owners. She’s going to go after people that are employed. She’s going to go after people that employ other people. She’s going to go after your investments.
“I suspect there are going to be these little stealth taxes all over the place, and those are going to have a really detrimental impact on the British economy, just at the time when we should be competing most actively on the international stage.
“They will deter investment. They will deter employment. We’re now seeing unemployment rising because of the jobs tax that she imposed last year. I think we are going to see businesses defer business decisions, or even scrap business decisions we’re going to see as we’ve already seen, entrepreneurs, wealth creators, the people that create jobs, leaving the country and taking their tax payments with them.
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“Her actions have been completely counterproductive, and rather than learning from last year and reducing government expenditure so that she can reduce taxes, she is being bullied by her own back benchers, and she is going to ramp up taxes on people that are already paying too much.”
Asked about the Chancellor’s claim that her critics are misogynists, he said: “I think there is an issue with women in public life who – see this with sports personalities. We see this with politicians and there is a level of aggression, often, threats of sexual violence directed at women that men don’t get.
“That said, I think there is plenty to criticise Rachel Reeves for, I think, her appalling mismanagement of the last year’s Budget, of the tax system, of government in general, without having to go anywhere near discussing her sex or gender. So misogyny, these threats of sexual violence completely inappropriate, but criticism of her for her ineptitude in her office, I think, is completely legitimate.
“In politics, it is absolutely right that we criticise people for the decisions they make, the things that they do. I don’t think it’s legitimate to criticise a person for basically their chromosomes. So I’m critical of her because she was completely dishonest in the lead up to the general election about their tax plans that she has ramped up taxes, she is killing jobs.
“This constant briefing, U-turning, re-briefing, re-U-turning is crushing confidence in the British economy, just at the time when we need it to be most active. These are the things she should be criticised for, not because she’s a woman.”
