'Of course they knew': Labour government aware of poor state of public finances, says IFS boss
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Published 2024-07-26
Speaking to Ali Fortescue on Sky's Politics Hub, Paul Johnson said the IFS and many others "made it clear" that it would be "very hard to avoid cuts", adding that public services such as the NHS, social care and prisons are in a "terrible state".
Mr Johnson's comments come amid reports that the government is facing a £20bn "black hole" in public finances, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowing to "fix" the "mess" left behind by the Tories.
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All Comments (21)
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If the financial problem is so big, why is there going to be a 5.5% pay rise for public sector workers?
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Remember, the rich get eaten first.
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The Conservatives knew even sooner! 😂
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Labour had access to all fiscal and budgetary information. ANOTHER LABOUR LIE!
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rich get richer poor get poorer always has always will do politicians dont have the solution to problems politicians are the problem
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The Devil is in the Detail - Labour clearly never new all of the detail.
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So it's a factual statement rather than any kind of indictment?
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That’s not what he said at all.
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I think we all knew how bad things are. But the mystery for me is just where have all the taxes gone that we have been paying for the past 14 years? Accommodation of illegal immigrants and other controversial expenditures are relatively small amounts from the Public Purse, so what has happened to the rest of it I would like to know?
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No worries, Labour voters will not mind paying more tax😂
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This guy has always been siding with the tories,they stopped asking Blanchflower because he was more Labour,so they couldnt have that.
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Didn't we all know?
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Just raise the taxes, we know our public sector is a mess- but we need to reform the NHS, it is not working!
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So, in summary everyone knew that taxes needed to rise but the Tories vilified Labour over the Sunak tax slur?!! Labour has to grow a backbone. We cannot keep kow towing to Murdoch The Daily Mail and anonymously funded Think Tanks for ever - at some point stakeholders have to be considered!
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What happened to The £350million a week we would have when we left the EU. Maybe we were stupid to believe that . They said we need change. I thought that meant it would be change for the better
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Hang on, a few days ago Sunak & Hunt were saying how fortunate Labour were with their inheritance! Don’t blame the new government for making sure everyone knows the actual truth.
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Public Finances in the worst state since whenever....and yet the highest tax burden on the country (people and businesses) for 70 years. There is no room for more taxes - at least not on the poorest 80%. As for the richest 20%, well....since 2016, over 16,000 - that's 16 thousand - Millionaires (most foreign) have decided to leave the UK, and take their wealth, buying power and tax contributions with them. Be careful Starmer - we can't ALL work for the Public Sector.
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Why the Hell do they pretend..Bloody lies
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This blaming of the previous government for current woes is literally the oldest trick in the book . The ancient Romans were doing it 2000 years ago . I am seventy five and every political party I can remember has done the same thing , when in opposition promise more jobs and houses and better education and health service and then when they get elected say “Oh we can’t do any of that now ,the previous government has left things in such a mess. “ Honestly , I have been hearing the same thing all my life
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Really showing your bias with the title there Sky. Yes they knew that public finances were screwed - we all did, hence the tories were voted out.
