If there’s one thing Keir Starmer’s government is actually good at, it’s penalising those who dare to climb the ladder, who stretch a little higher.
Pay for your children’s private school education while still shelling out taxes for the state sector? You’re hit. Decide that NHS queues aren’t for you and pay for private health insurance? You’re hit again. Want to set up a business or invest in property? You’ll pay the price while they wrap you up like a kipper in red tape. Save a little for retirement to avoid relying on the taxpayer in your later years? You guessed it—Labour’s coming for you too.
They’re even planning to let themselves into your bank account now to have a snoop around. There’s no hiding. This Labour Big Brother Government is coming for you… and YOU WILL PAY!
It’s a curious model, really: punish success, and while you’re at it, frame it as a crusade for fairness so they can pay for net zero experiments and housing illegal migrants.
You’d have thought most governments would encourage financial independence that keeps people off the state purse. Yet everything Labour does under Starmer seems to be the exact opposite of what a sensible government should be doing to foster aspiration and reward responsibility.
And what does Sir Keir have to say for himself? Well, he’s still banging on about “14 years of Tory misgovernment” and the supposed mess his government is here to fix. But, lest we forget, it was under Conservative stewardship that the UK boasted the highest growth in the G7. Economic stability after Covid and Ukraine was returning. Inflation was down, real wages were up, we were the world’s fourth largest exporter, the second largest exporter of services… I could go on.
But of course, all Labour can do is bang on about a so called £22 billion blackhole, the exact amount of money they need to fund their carbon capture net zero experiment. Miraculous coincidence right? And never forget, when it came to lockdown zeal, nobody wanted longer and harsher lockdowns than Labour and their lefty union allies, who held the country hostage at every turn. It’s unbelievable, they’re now daring to blame the Tories.
Yet here we are, 16 weeks into the Starmer reign of terror, and it’s painfully clear where the country is headed: straight towards a dystopian, socialist nightmare and a government that views aspiration as a threat.
In Starmer’s world, “working people” apparently excludes anyone with savings, assets, or a desire to get ahead. It’s a strange, circular logic, much like Labour’s recent struggle to define simple terms such as “working person” or even “woman” in these pronoun-obsessed times. At Prime Minister’s Questions, we had Angela Rayner providing a broad, nebulous answer to what constitutes “working people,” suggesting it’s anyone failed by the last government. Yes, that clears it up, doesn’t it?
Of course, Labour’s relationship with aspiration has always been a little… conflicted. We’ve seen their tax raid on private schools—meant to punish the “privileged”—that will have little impact on the truly wealthy but will make life far more difficult for those ordinary parents working hard to scrape together fees to give their children a decent education. And here’s the rub: there’s an undercurrent of class envy in everything Labour’s touches. Starmer’s comments about anyone who can “write a cheque to get out of difficulties” ring with a sneer that implies anyone financially secure is somehow suspect. PLUS how out of touch is this guy? Does anyone even write cheques anymore?
My “minds eye” sees him and his ambition of eroding every last inch of aspiration across the land. Labour now regards anyone who isn’t perpetually scrabbling to pay this month’s bills as suspiciously out of touch with their “working person” narrative.
Once upon a time, governments actually encouraged saving for a rainy day, even incentivising it with clever banking products. Now, under Labour’s lens, the idea of holding a bit of capital for emergencies puts you beyond the pale. They’ll come for you.
And this isn’t just bad policy—it’s an affront to common sense. By all means, define your “working people,” but don’t insult those who’ve put in the hard graft to ensure a secure future for themselves and their families. The impression we’re left with—however ludicrous it sounds—is that this government is more comfortable with a nation constantly stressing over bills, rather than one relaxed and confident about their financial footing.
In this strange new world of Starmer’s Britain, aspiration and security have become political liabilities. So let us be clear: if you’ve invested wisely, saved, or set aside anything to better your lot, prepare to be targeted by a government that sees you not as part of the solution, but as part of the problem. And remember, while Labour’s busy pointing fingers, they’re simply setting us all up for a future in which everyone’s poorer together—while they, of course, continue to live the high life at our expense.
It’s the socialists’ dreams. The rich, champagne-swigging socialist type ones of course.
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.
