Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing a pivotal moment and must adopt honesty as her best policy, according to commentator Brian Reade. He contends she needs to admit Labour was wrong and use her upcoming Budget to address the UK's severe financial challenges head-on.
The Historical Tax Comparison
Reade highlights the current media frenzy predicting that Reeves will become the first Chancellor since Labour's Denis Healey in 1975 to raise the basic rate of income tax. However, he provides crucial context often omitted from these warnings.
Back in the 1970s, the basic tax rate was 33%, with eight rising rates reaching up to 70%. Healey increased most of them by 2%, leaving only the top rate of 83% unchanged. In stark contrast, today's top rate is 45%. A potential 2p increase in the basic rate would bring it to just 22%, which is still 3% lower than when Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990.
Why Honesty is the Only Option
With Labour's popularity sinking, Reade argues the party has little left to lose by breaking its manifesto pledge. The scale of the economic crisis is too vast to ignore, requiring an estimated £107 billion annually just to service the national debt.
Reade dismisses the credibility of Tory attacks on tax betrayal, pointing to the legacy of policies from Osborne's austerity to Truss's Budget as primary reasons for the current financial strain. The electoral alternatives, such as Reform UK's U-turns or proposed cuts to welfare, are presented as less realistic or fair.
The Path Forward with a Reality Bomb
The solution, Reade insists, is for Reeves to be brutally honest with the public. She must explain that world-class public services and a dignified welfare system cannot coexist with low taxation for all.
In her Budget, she should state clearly that to fix our broken economy we all need to pay more tax, with the wealthiest paying the most. By admitting the initial promise was a mistake and prioritising the country over her party, she can demonstrate the vision and competence voters currently perceive as lacking.
Reade concludes by advising Reeves to follow the example of Denis Healey, who defended his own tough budget half a century ago as being dictated by the harsh reality of the world we live in. It is now time for Rachel Reeves to deliver her own reality bomb.
