McDonnell reveals Labour plan to borrow to fund £17bn splurge
financial crisis as an excuse to squeeze working households while cutting tax for corporations. He said: “The great lie behind austerity was that we had no choice – that cuts were essential because there was no money. “This is a wealthy country, one of the richest in the world but that wealth is held in too few hands, and spent for too little purpose.” Tory Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss warned Mr McDonnell’s plans would vastly increase debt, piling up swingeing tax rises for ordinary families for years ahead. Ms Truss said: “The shadow chancellor has today admitted Labour would borrow billions more and hike up taxes to record levels.
“The costs would rack up and up, putting economic growth at risk.”
Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, said: “Labour’s spending plans were pulled apart by the Institute for Fiscal Studies during the general election and it appears the shadow chancellor is still not properly costing his ideas.
“Over-assumptions of tax take are a feature of Corbyn and McDonnell’s Labour and would pile debt on future generations.”
Tory backbencher Peter Bone added: “Goodness knows what would happen to the economy if John McDonnell was chancellor.” YESTERDAY John McDonnell made a speech on his demands for next week’s budget.
In the morning he said that Labour were planning for £17billion worth of more spending but by the time he’d finished talking around lunchtime his shopping list had grown.
The truth is that there’s a £58billion black hole in Labour plans. That’s a gap bigger than we spend on defence every year.
And what would that mean for families? It’d mean an additional £2,000 tax bill for every family in the country. It’s clear that Labour’s spending spree would have to be paid for and it’s working families in communities across Britain that would end up paying the price. Next week, Philip Hammond will set out a Budget that will tackle the challenges our country faces.
We will set out a balanced approach to our spending, in a way that gets our national debt falling but also invests in public services
By delivering on all of this, we can create a country with a stronger economy and a fairer society, one that will guarantee a better future for the next generation.