Tax experts have criticised proposals announced during the King’s Speech today, stating they do not do enough to address the nation’s soaring tax burden.
King Charles III took to Parliament today to deliver a speech laying out the legislative program of the UK’s first Labour Government in 14 years.
From housebuilding programmes and renters reform bills to pensions and employment rights bills, King Charles is reported to have made the most legislation-heavy speech for nearly two decades.
Despite this, tax experts argue the agenda was dominated by “low-priority” issues that will not solve the “genuine crises” at the Government’s door.
At present, the nation is thought to be dealing with the highest tax burden seen since World War Two, in large part fuelled by rising wage inflation and freezes to tax thresholds.
Responding to the King’s Speech, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be deeply disappointed by a legislative programme that fiddles with everything while fixing nothing.
“With frontline services on their knees and the tax burden heading to a record high, Brits were expecting bold measures to deal with the genuine crises at the Government’s door.”
Yet, Mr O’Connell noted that despite positive promises on planning, “this agenda is dominated by low-priority issues”, adding that the Government “should ditch the vacuous virtue signalling and focus on improving frontline services.”
The Speech has been criticised for other “missed opportunities” by MPs, as it failed to deliver on much-sought-for measures, such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
Figures published last week by the Department for Work and Pensions showed there were 1.6 million children living in households affected by the cap as of April this year – including 26,000 in Scotland.
With Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar branding the policy “wrong” and saying it “needs to be reversed”, the SNP has also been pushing the new Westminster administration on the issue.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn responded to the speech, saying: “This timid legislative programme is a missed opportunity that failed to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised.
“People in Scotland voted for clear and substantial change at Westminster, and the Labour Government was handed a huge mandate to deliver it, so it’s bitterly disappointing that they have thrown that opportunity away.
“While some of the small measures announced are welcome, they fail to deal with the major challenges facing the UK. There was no plan to eradicate child poverty, no plan to tackle the cost of living and no plan to end Tory austerity and boost NHS funding.
“And with no plan to reverse the damage of Brexit or properly invest in green energy – Starmer is restricting the potential for strong growth in the economy, wages and living standards.”
Mr Flynn added: “The SNP will work with the Labour Government, wherever possible, to deliver the best outcomes for Scotland – but where that change isn’t forthcoming we will hold them to account.”
