Labours five point plan.

Graham_Devon

What do people think?

In a nutshell:

His five-point growth plan includes:

• Repeating the bank bonus tax - and using "the money to build 25,000 affordable homes and guarantee a job for 100,000 young people"
• Bringing forward long-term investment projects, such as schools, roads and transport, to create jobs
• Reversing January's "damaging" VAT rise now for a temporary period
• Immediate one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance
• One-year national insurance tax break "for every small firm which takes on extra workers, using the money left over from the government's failed national insurance rebate for new businesses"

I'm not sure how we guarentee jobs. I know labour did this before, but we never heard much more than they were going to do it. How did it go? What job can you guarantee? Is it more to do with bringing forward spending? Which means more debt?

VAT cut I suppose is plausable. I.e. can be done.

Not sure on the immediate VAT cut on home improvements though. Firstly I'm not sure it can be immediate, legally. Secondly, not sure what that's supposed to achieve really. Any thoughts?

People cannot / will not spend while they are in debt at these times. It seems to me, most of the above is based on spending money the government and the nation don't have. He talks about people struggling to pay bills in the speech and then suggests VAT cuts on items such as double glazing (home improvements). Either he wants to talk about people simply struggling to pay the bills, or he believes people will have enough money to think "oh, VAT has fallen, I'll get some tripple glazing now". Can't be both.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15054705

A._Badger

Fortunately, only Labour tribalists will be even listening, let along taking this stuff seriously.

As the ever impressive Jeff Randall wrote today ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8788501/Eurozone-crisis-there-are-no-miracles-in-Greek-tragedies.html )

"Between 2003-2007, the UK was, apparently, enjoying a boom. These were the “good times”. So how much debt did the state repay in that period? Answer: nothing. In fact Gordon Brown borrowed, on average, £32 billion pounds a year, clocking up £160 billion of debt at a time when tax revenues should have been tucked away as a shield against future storms."

Labour's credibility is blown, at least until idiots like Balls are shuffled-off the Kremlin balcony and replaced with people who don't have a record of complete, unadulterated failure.

Aberdeenangarse

Graham_Devon wrote: »

What do people think?

I think it's Balls

Going4TheDream

I shant hold my breath for a return to power for the Labour party any time soon

MacMickster

All these things are probably good things to do when the economy is in trouble, but as I have just pointed out in another thread, having had so many boom years we should have been facing this with a budget surplus rather than a deficit.

The profligate spending in the past restricts the actions that can be taken now to stimulate the economy.

Thrugelmir

Seems like a 5 point plan without substance. As all require more spending or increased borrowing.

I liked the quote about spending the windfall generated by the sales of the nationalised banks. At the current rate the taxpayer will be lucky just to get their money back.

CLAPTON

A._Badger wrote: »

Fortunately, only Labour tribalists will be even listening, let along taking this stuff seriously.

As the ever impressive Jeff Randall wrote today ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8788501/Eurozone-crisis-there-are-no-miracles-in-Greek-tragedies.html )

"Between 2003-2007, the UK was, apparently, enjoying a boom. These were the “good times”. So how much debt did the state repay in that period? Answer: nothing. In fact Gordon Brown borrowed, on average, £32 billion pounds a year, clocking up £160 billion of debt at a time when tax revenues should have been tucked away as a shield against future storms."

Labour's credibility is blown, at least until idiots like Balls are shuffled-off the Kremlin balcony and replaced with people who don't have a record of complete, unadulterated failure.

indeed true

and remember that Dave was going to continue the spending ; indeed was going to increase it due to the increase in wealth

now those were the days

peterg1965

All hypothetical crap. Who are they kidding if they think an expensive 5% cut in VAT will make people spend more. What people are more likely to do with a morsel of extra money is either to save it or to pay down debt. There would be far better things to do with £12Bn!

chris_m

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Seems like a 5 point plan without substance.

No surprise there. Quite apart from it being Balls-up's ideas, therefore little more than ill-conceived soundbites, Labour can say/promise anything they like because they aren't going to have the opportunity to be proven wrong.

Jimmy_31

Thats the best they could come up with.

leveller2911

peterg1965 wrote: »

All hypothetical crap. Who are they kidding if they think an expensive 5% cut in VAT will make people spend more. !

Speaking as someone who is vat registered I can say that many of my customers have either : Put work on hold due to having to pay 20% vat or asking me "is there anything we can do about the vat?"......

Obviously I say I can't do anything about the vat but many ask the same question over and over again so I think it may matter more than you think, just think about it £1,000 for a couple of wooden windows(hardly a luxury) and then £200 to the government....I think the vat rate of 20% is a burden many cannot afford to pay.