2024-07-30 22:50:21
A “black hole” in public finances is causing concern for the new British government. The Conservatives claim to have known nothing about it.
The new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared Britain to be “broke and broken”. This was stated in a statement by the Labour leader’s office. British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will present an assessment of the country’s public finances on Monday. This is expected to show a deficit of 20 billion pounds (23.7 billion euros) for which the previous conservative government was responsible.
“The review will show that Britain is broke and broken – exposing the chaos that populist policies have wreaked on the economy and public services,” Starmer’s office said. The review will show that the previous government made significant funding commitments for this financial year without knowing where the money would come from.
The Conservative Party, which has governed Britain for the past 14 years, has dismissed Labour’s announcement of a “black hole” in public finances as a fabricated pretext for planned tax increases. Labour has ruled out raising income tax, VAT, national insurance and corporation tax. However, changes to pensions, capital gains and inheritance taxes could be under scrutiny. Reeves could also delay a number of major infrastructure projects, according to the Financial Times newspaper.