Once again, we find ourselves staring down the barrel of Labour’s slippery tax policies, cloaked in vague promises and spun with the kind of semantic trickery that would make a magician blush.
Remember that Labour manifesto, the one that solemnly swore there would be no increase in taxes on working people—specifically mentioning VAT, Income Tax, and National Insurance?
Well, apparently, they didn’t quite mean what we all thought they meant. Oh no, no! They’ve got their hands on a gloss so thick you could use it to coat the Houses of Parliament.
Let’s take a closer look at this latest sleight of hand. Labour, it seems, has decided that while they won’t touch employee National Insurance but they’re perfectly happy to nudge up employers’ National Insurance. They claim it’s a fair interpretation of their promise. Well, forgive me if I don’t break out the champagne! What they fail to mention is that employer National Insurance is nothing more than a tax on jobs. Yes, you heard me—a tax on jobs, plain and simple. Because when you make it more expensive for companies to employ people, guess what? They employ fewer people, put prices up, or they freeze wages. It doesn’t take a Nobel laureate in economics to figure out that this will hit working people where it hurts. So much for protecting the ordinary worker!
And if you think that’s the end of it, oh no, there’s more. Rumours are swirling that the Chancellor, in her infinite wisdom, may slap higher taxes on motor fuel. Now, who exactly do you think relies most on motor fuel? Is it the retired couple sipping tea in their bungalow, or the thousands of working men and women who need to drive to work each day, or the legions of self-employed tradespeople—the plumbers, electricians, and carpenters—who crisscross the country, tools in tow, to earn their daily bread? Yes, that’s right. It’s working people, once again, who will bear the brunt. And make no mistake—this is inflationary. Taxing the fuel that powers our economy will only drive up prices, making life harder for everyone. Not technically a broken manifesto promise, perhaps, but certainly a kick in the teeth for the working public.
But wait, the assault on savers and strivers doesn’t stop there. There are whispers in the corridors of power about adverse tax changes on pensions — whether it’s saving into one or taking money out upon retirement. Now, last time I checked, it’s working people who save for their pensions, trying to build a secure future for themselves, free from reliance on the state. Any attempt to increase taxes on pensions would be a direct attack on the very people Labour pledged to protect. Let’s be clear: taxing pensions is taxing the hard work of ordinary Britons, and Labour’s manifesto, no matter how they try to twist it, should not permit it.
And then, of course, there’s the spectre of Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Many people who pay CGT—whether it’s on a home, a business they’ve built, or shares they’ve invested in—are, indeed, working people. Now, if Labour’s bright idea is to hike up CGT to Income Tax levels, well, that starts to look an awful lot like an Income Tax rise on working people, doesn’t it? What Labour seem to forget, in their race to squeeze every penny from those who work hard, is that Britain’s strivers are not the enemy—they are the engine of this nation’s prosperity.
It’s as if they’ve forgotten the wise words of that great Conservative titan, Margaret Thatcher, who reminded us that “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” And oh, how apt those words feel today, as we hurtle down the road of reckless spending, driven by none other than Labour’s unrestrained economic fantasist-in-chief, Rachel Reeves and her mean green spendaholic machine, Mad Miliband. Let’s not kid ourselves — this is a government preparing to shovel billions into unchallenged Net Zero projects, lifting capital spending limits, and piling up debt like there’s no tomorrow. And the kicker? Most of the assets they’re spending on come from abroad! It’s financial madness, plain and simple.
So what does all of this mean for ordinary British families? I’ll tell you what it means. It means power cuts, high interest rates, and a return to the sort of public sector strikes that left Britain in the dark ages of the 1970s. Yes, that’s right, readers — Labour is steering us straight back to the dismal days of economic stagnation, militant unions, and rolling blackouts. Only this time, we don’t even get the benefit of the great music.
So here’s my message to Labour: stop waging war on the very backbone of Britain. Stop punishing the strivers, the savers, the entrepreneurs, and the risk-takers — the people who keep this country ticking. The hard-working families of this nation deserve better than a government that taxes success, strangles ambition, and throws prosperity out with the bathwater. It’s time to stop picking pockets and start backing Britain!
Claire Bullivant, Editor
Claire is the founder and editor of the Conservative Post and was a co-founder of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. Claire is now setting up www.GreatBritishPAC.com. Pre-register today.
