One year on from last year’s general election, it feels like the country is experiencing a huge case of buyer’s remorse. Coinciding with this, last week it felt like the Labour Party gave up on trying to be any kind of serious government with the abandonment of trying to reign in the ever-growing welfare benefits bill.
No one disputes that our country should support those in genuine need, but the current system with the projections for the growth in the welfare bill, isn’t sustainable. The government were originally right to look at this, but they were forced to back down by their own left-wing back benchers and this is going to have serious consequences for us all.
This latest U-turn by the Labour Government means that an additional £5 billion will be added to the welfare bill by 2029/30. This follows other unfunded U-turns and spending commitments being added to government spending. This extra £5 billion will add to the existing black hole in the public finances that Labour have been creating through their poor decision making, that is adding to inflation, rising unemployment, and reducing economic growth.
There is a real irony that on taking office a year ago, Labour spent months talking down the economy and inventing a £22 billion black hole, trying to blame the last Conservative Government, but now they have created it themselves for real. Some estimates put this at over £20 billion.
This means more borrowing and yet more tax rises are coming in the autumn budget, risking us being stuck in a doom loop of ever higher taxes and higher debt interest to pay, all hurting the economy and resulting in ever greater strain on the government finances.
However, the implications of last week’s fiasco in parliament go beyond the financial pressures left behind. When left-wing Labour MPs (including Crawley’s) are patting themselves on the back over disrupting government attempts to limit spending growth, we should all be concerned. They’ll keep doing it and their tail is now firmly wagging the government dog. That’s a dangerous place for any government to be in.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
9th July 2025
