The Week - UK (2020-09-12)

4 NEWS Politics

THEWEEK 12 September 2020

Controversy of the week

Sunak’s dilemma

“Injust si xmonthsasChancellor, RishiSunak has borrowed

as much asGordon Browndid in tenyears,” said Fraser

Nelson in The Daily Telegraph.The national debtisn ow £2trn

–more than 100% ofGDP, alevel not reached since 1963.

Senior Treasuryofficials worry that government financesare

closeto“theedge”:amoderate rise in interest ratescould cost

Britain billions. Yetwhen Sunakfloatedthe idea of “mild” tax

increasesit wasmet with “furyonthe Torybackbenches”.In

fact,ToryMPs want himtospend more:on Covidbailouts,

on theNHS, on defence. Thecurrentspre ehas been made

possible by ultra-low interest rates andquantitative easing.

“There hasbeenamagicmoneytree –and th eTorieshave

been shaking it everyday. Butitcould vanish at anypoint.”

If it does, what will they do? “Sunak is simplytelling hisparty

that theycan’t do dgethisquestion.”

But, asSunakhimself told MPs,there willbenotax “horrorshow” in the shortterm, said Iain

Martin inTheTimes.It“ wouldbe madness tointroducelarge taxrises soonbecausethey would

squashthe recovery”.Noone hasaclear idea howbig the deficit–the gap between incomeand

spending–willbebynextspring: it couldbeanywhere between £180bn and £300bn. It alldepends

on th erecovery.In the medium term,though,choice swill have tobe made.Theywillbe“very

unappetising”,saidAndrew Rawnsley in The Observer.Should theGove rnment squeeze thepublic

sector, as intheCameron/Osborneausterityyear s, or should taxpayers bear thebrun t? Should it

discard the generous “triplelock”on pensions,toh elpyounger peopleenteringableak jobmarket?

The suggestion thattaxes mightfall ontheaffluent,bigbusiness andmotorists provoked outrage

among“vocal” Tories.But equally, the party needsto shore upitsrecentgains inpoorer areas of the

North. When it comestomoney ,the PM is unlikely to offerclear direction: he’sacrowd-pleasing

populistwho “hates to find himself anywhere nearadifficult decision”. “You know Boris,” saysa

seniorConservative.“He wantstospend more everywhere andcut taxesfor everyone.”

“TheTories have no realintention ofrepairingpublic finances this sideof an election,” said Juliet

Samuelin TheDaily Telegraph. Andunles sthe bondmarkets “turnnasty”, they’llget away with it.

The publicis sick of austerity and, apart from foreign aid,won’t forgive anymajor spendingcuts.

Johnson could, it’s true,killHS2,but it is central tohis“levellingup” message.The“bigfat debt

hang over is he re to stay”. Sunak should, though, seizethe m omenttoreformthetax system,said

CarstenJunginThe Guar dia n. Capitalgainstax shouldberaisedsothatwealth is taxed at the

same rate as work;windfa ll taxesshouldbe imposedon onlineretailersthat have benefitedfrom

the pandemic.These wouldshoreupthe public finances,whilealsomaking Britainalittle fairer.

Shakingthemagicmoneytree

Spirit of the age

Good weekfor:

Horse lovers,whocan now beddownalongsideone, in a

converted stable.Guests at StableStays, inCumbria, sleep in a

doublebed withabunk bedabove it, next totheir horse,which

is separatedonly byatransparent screen.Thestable’s owners

describe itas a“magical experience”.

EmmaBarnett,with news that sheistoreplaceJenni Murray

as th enew host of BBC Radio4’sWoman’s Hour.

OxfordUniversity,whichwas named thebest universityin the

world, forthe fifthyear in arow.Cambridge, however,fell from

third to sixth placeinthe Times EducationalSupplement’s

rankings.All theother top ten places weretakenbyUS colleges.

Imperial College,which hadbeententh,came eleventh.

Bad week for:

Tourism,afterseven Greek islands,including Crete, Zakynthos

and Santorini, were removedfromEngland’s “safecorrido r” list,

sparkingarapidexodus of holidaymakers. However,the

Government stopped short of removing themainland(as Scotland

has done);andcontrary to expectation,ita lsoleftPortugal on the

safe list ,tothe fr ustrationof travellers whohad cutshort their

holidaysthere to avoidhavin gtoisolate for14days.

GarethSouthgate,aftertwo members of his England team

were sent home for sneaking two women into the squad’s hotelin

Reykjavík.Insodoing, Phil Foden, 20, and Mason Greenwood,

18, breachedthe protocols thathaveallow ed international

football togo ahead. However, Southgate urgedpeople no tto

judge themtooharshly. “They’re younglads,”hesaid.

HS2constructionbegins

Contractors began work on

the tunnels for phase one of

the £106bn HS2 rail line from

London to Birmingham last

week, leading Whitehall

sources to say the project

has now reached the “point

of no return”. Although final

approval for the construction

phase was only granted in

April, preparatory works for

the 330-mile high-speed

network linking London,

Birmingham, Leeds and

Manchester began several

years ago, including the

demolition of buildings and

excavation of historic sites.

Contractors will now focus

on tunnels, includingaten-

mile stretch under the

Chilterns, and on new

stations in London and the

West Midlands.

Testingproblems

Health Secretary Matt

Hancock has said problems

with the test and trace

system are the result of

people booking tests though

they have no symptoms.

“We have seen an increase

of about 25% of people who

are coming forward that

don’t have symptoms and

aren’t eligible,” he said.

Some 170,000 testsaday are

being processesd, up from

100,000 in June. UK labs are

said to be “maxed out”, and

there have been reports of

some people in England

having to drive hundreds of

miles to get same-day tests.

Pollwatch

46%of people in England

think Scotland should

remain in the UK.13%think

it should be independent.

34%preferred not to give

an opinion, saying it is for

Scots to decide. Among

Conservative voters in

Britain,20%say they’d be

pleased if Scotland left the

union;29%would not be

bothered; and48%would

be upset. Among Labour

voters,14%would be

pleased,24%unbothered

and59%upset.

YouGov/The National

26%of Britons say they’d

never buy second-hand

clothes or accessories. Even

among those who recently

donated goods toacharity

shop,21%say they’d never

buy clothes from one.

However,28%of Britons say

they prefer to buy second-

hand rather than new.

YouGov

Developersaretaking

advantageoftherelaxation

ofplanninglaws–andthe

decimationofthehigh

street–toturnformershops

intotiny,one-roomflats,

reportsTheSundayTimes.

The smallest measure as

little as 15 sq m, and many

have scarcely any natural

light. The applications are

made under permitted

development rights, which

until recently were mainly

used for office conversions.

As part of its campaign to

simplify English spelling,

the English Spelling Society

has produced six new

versions of Hamlet’s most

famous soliloquy, and is

asking the public to vote on

their preferred version. One

starts: “To be, or not to be,

that is th qeschun: whether

‘tis noebler in th miend to

sufer th slings and arroes of

outraejus forchun...”