Andy Burnham has raised fears he could choke the economy with even more tax rises as figures showed growth already stalling. Official data revealed that GDP grew just 0.1% in May as it continues to flatline. The grim numbers came after the Prime Minister-in-waiting admitted he might “ask for a little more” from people, even though the tax burden is hurtling towards record levels.
Burnham Set to Become Labour Leader
The warning comes as Mr Burnham is due to be anointed as Labour leader today (Fri). He will enter No 10, replacing Sir Keir Starmer, on Monday. Markets have calmed ahead of next week’s handover amid signs Ed Miliband is losing his battle to become Chancellor. The pound has hit a one-year high on hopes that Shabana Mahmood will be named Chancellor instead of Ed Miliband.
Shadow Chancellor Criticises Tax Policy
Writing exclusively in the Express, Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves said economic growth was her ‘number one mission’. She failed. Two years of higher taxes have squeezed families, workers, businesses and investors alike, leaving Britain with record tax levels but precious little growth to show for them. The worrying thing is that Andy Burnham appears ready to double down. Burnham has already made a string of expensive spending promises, from the biggest council house building programme since the war to nationalising utilities and plugging the £5 billion hole in Labour's Defence Investment Plan. The maths is simple. If he wants to spend more, there are only three ways to pay for it: borrow more, cut spending elsewhere or raise taxes.”
Plans for North Sea Drilling and Thames Water
Last night (Thur) Bloomberg reported that Mr Burnham has asked the civil service to prepare announcements on new drilling in the North Sea and public control of Thames Water within days of taking office. Government officials are drawing up plans for energy and water that can be announced as soon as next week. But he has so far revealed little of his plans for the country as concerns grow about his mandate to be PM. He has spoken only once in the House of Commons since returning to Parliament as the new Makerfield MP. The former Greater Manchester mayor also dodged media questions after a major speech at the end of last month. He has instead opted to selectively answer questions on website Reddit and during a light-hearted podcast chat with ex-footballer Gary Lineker.
Business Concerns Over Economic Direction
Shadow Business Secretary, Andrew Griffith, said: “With the economy flatter than a beach at low tide, the last thing we need is a summer of speculation on tax. Burnham needs to rule out any tax rises and get on with reversing the disastrous policies of the last two years.” Samuel Edwards of global financial services firm Ebury said: “Questions over the future Chancellor and the Burnham government are adding another layer of concern, leaving businesses looking for greater clarity on the Government's economic direction and whether further tax increases for employers could be on the table.” Although there is no confirmed date yet, the next Budget is widely expected in October or November.
Former Tory MP Warns of Mistakes
Former Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “Andy Burnham is making the same mistake as Rachel Reeves made and that is to frighten people before a budget, rather than announcing things at a budget. This maximises the pain and uncertainty, and the damaging effect on business. It's really foolish to make the same mistake twice within two years.”
GDP Growth Details
The meagre growth in May came after expansion of 0.3% in the key services sector, which was partly offset by falls of 0.5% in production and 0.8% in construction. Growth has been pulling back sharply after a much better than expected start to the year, with the ONS recording growth of 0.3% in March before the contraction in April, which was the first fall for eight months in what was seen as a sign that the Iran war was beginning to take its toll. The ONS said the Middle East conflict had been flagged by businesses across a raft of sectors for having impacted activity, including some manufacturing industries, hospitality firms, travel agencies and entertainment companies. “A common theme of comments received by the monthly business survey was disruption in global supply chains because of the conflict in Iran,” according to the ONS.
Treasury Response
A Treasury spokeswoman said: “We have the right economic plan which has put the UK in a much stronger position than two years ago with the fastest growth in the G7 in the first quarter and the OECD agreeing that we have restored stability. We're forecast to be the fastest growing European G7 economy this year and next, inflation is steady, and for the first time since 2004, we are forecast to borrow less this year than the G7 average.”
