Reeves says nuclear investment shows UK ‘back where it belongs' after approving Sizewell C plant
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Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Reeves must hike taxes, scrap triple lock or CHARGE for NHS to avoid economic disaster, global finance watchdog claims
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RACHEL Reeves must hike taxes, scrap the triple lock or charge for the NHS, an influential finance watchdog warned today. The International Monetary Fund said the Chancellor must make deeply unpopular decisions to tackle soaring debt, sky-high borrowing costs and weak growth – all made worse by an ageing population and ballooning pensions bill. 1 Chancellor Rachel Reeves Credit: EPA In a damning new report, the IMF declared Ms Reeves and future chancellors must either whack up taxes, axe pillars of the welfare state like the triple lock or make patients pay to see a doctor. It also argued government finances should only be probed once a year to avoid "overly frequent" changes to policy. Currently the Office for Budget Responsibility assesses if the Treasury is on course to meet its borrowing commitments twice a year. The watchdog said: 'Unless the authorities revisit their commitment not to increase taxes on 'working people', further spending prioritisation will be required to align better the scope of public services with available resources." The IMF suggested replacing the pensions triple lock with a policy of indexing the state pension to the cost of living. It also argued access to benefits and public services could be more intensely means tested, with higher income households paying for the likes of the NHS. The IMF's economic update, published on Friday, acknowledged the Chancellor's earlier attempts at welfare reform. But since it was written on July 1, Sir Keir Starmer caved to rebels on his own benches, watering down plans to tackle the ballooning disability benefits bill. That U-turn blew a £5bn hole in the government's budget. The IMF said such reforms were 'critical' to stop the public finances spiralling further. The watchdog also warned that Ms Reeves must stick to tough fiscal plans or risk disaster if the economy falters or interest rates spike. It warned political pressure from MPs for more spending could further derail the public purse. And the IMF found that planning reforms to spur housebuilding also face fierce resistance – but failure to unleash a building boom would damage growth. The latest update from its economists predicted sluggish growth of just 1.2 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent in 2026, and warned of the risk of 'stagflation' – the nightmare scenario of rising prices and a stagnant economy. Despite the grim forecast, Ms Reeves insisted the IMF's report backed her plans. She said: 'Our fiscal rules allow us to confront those challenges by investing in Britain's renewal. 'We're committing billions of pounds into improving transport connections, providing record funding for affordable homes, as well as backing major projects like Sizewell C to drive economic growth. 'There's more to do, and that's why we're slashing unnecessary red tape and unblocking investment to let British businesses thrive and put more money in working people's pockets.' Responding to the report, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: "Rachel Reeves has already fiddled her fiscal targets to allow her to borrow hundreds of billions more over this parliament. She has loosened the rules and then constantly teetered on the brink of breaking them. 'In a context where the Chancellor's credibility is already in tatters, changing the goalposts a second time would run real risks with market confidence.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'If energy communities are left behind then more will be attracted by climate denial'
'Thousands of jobs in oil and gas are at risk of disappearing without being replaced by new work - this is the context that the populist Right is seeking to exploit,' warn union leaders The energy transition will only happen thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of energy workers. This might seem an obvious point, but it is one that is surprisingly absent from the national debate on Net Zero. We talk about the technologies we might need, the costs to government or the potential savings on household bills and the impact on our energy security, far more than we talk about the workers. As a country we spend far more time debating the people blocking wind farms than we do discussing the people building them. If we are going to achieve the government's ambitious decarbonisation goals, we need to bring energy workers to the centre of the national conversation. This is vital to resolving the serious workforce challenges presented by a rapid transition to new forms of energy generation. If we are going to seize the opportunities on offer, we will need tens of thousands of skilled workers to build new wind farms and nuclear power stations, install millions of solar panels, retrofit houses and change heating systems, and deliver the upgrades to the grid that will get clean power to where it is needed. And if the UK is going to maximise the economic benefits from this transition, we also need to make sure that the kit we use is manufactured in the UK as much as possible, whether that is for turbines or nuclear fuel. For the first time in decades, we have a government that understands that this can only be done with a clear industrial strategy. The market alone will deliver a transition that is neither quick nor just. The approach of the previous government saw major infrastructure decisions like Sizewell C kicked into the long grass, a ridiculous ban on onshore wind, and no interest in British jobs. As a result, we missed crucial opportunities to onshore key production lines, and thousands of jobs that could have been based in Britain were shipped overseas. This was a tragedy and it was avoidable. The Labour government's Clean Energy Industrial Strategy is a welcome antidote to this, backed up by Great British Energy and a National Wealth Fund investing in UK energy projects. The first year has seen progress on new nuclear and renewable projects. For the first time in years, energy trade unions like Prospect and GMB have been properly consulted on the polices that will shape our members' lives. But we need to be bigger and bolder when it comes to the workforce and jobs. Research we commissioned from YouGov has found that only 8% of UK voters have seen an increase in energy jobs in their area because of the transition. When thinking about the future only 31% of people in the UK think that the transition will have a positive impact on jobs nationally, and that falls to 20% when asked to think about jobs in their local area. These numbers fall still further in traditional energy communities in the north of England, Wales and Scotland where thousands of jobs in oil and gas are at risk of disappearing without being replaced by new work. This is the context that the populist Right is seeking to exploit, and it is these energy communities they are often targeting. Let's be clear, Reform's policy to scrap the energy transition would be a disaster for Britain and would put thousands of jobs at risk. The public aren't convinced either, only a small minority oppose the transition, but the majority do want to see a focus on the economy and on jobs. If this transition doesn't result in good, unionised jobs, and if energy communities are left on the scrapheap, then more and more people will be attracted by the siren voice of climate denial. The answer is to put workers front and centre, and make clear that this transition is going to be delivered by them and with their interests in mind. We need an ambitious energy workforce plan that focuses on job numbers and job quality, a real Just Transition plan for energy communities, and a huge national effort to train the next generation of energy workers. Our unions have formed a new campaign group, Climate Jobs UK, to fight for these outcomes and we will be turning up the volume in the coming years to make sure the voice of energy workers is impossible to ignore.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
New drawings of Sizewell C's education complex in Leiston emerge
New details about an education complex which is being built by Sizewell C have emerged ahead of a public to planning permission, College on the Coast will include a permanent post-16 facility and apprentice hub and be located in Leiston, near where the power plant is due to be campus is being delivered in partnership with Suffolk New College and hopes to welcome its first students from Pyke, Sizewell C's joint managing director, believes the new facility will help people "who have faced real barriers" access education. "Building an education campus right here in this town will be life-changing for thousands of local people," she added."This is the start of an exciting new chapter for Leiston and the wider region." According to those behind the project, the site will deliver technical, vocational, and academic pathways "aligned to the workforce needs of Sizewell C and the wider energy, infrastructure, and engineering sectors".If approved, it will take shape as a two-storey building facing King George's Avenue with space for 150 students and 20 full-time staff. Alan Pease, principal and chief executive officer at Suffolk New College, said: "We are delighted to announce the location and design of our new Leiston training centre."This news further extends our commitment to support those living in the east of the county and builds on the work that we have achieved." The new details about the campus are being shared a day after it was revealed the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant had jumped to £38bn from £ will mean an additional £1 will be added to household energy bills every month for at least a Pyke said earlier estimates did not account for inflation or Alison Downes, director of pressure group Stop Sizewell C, said the project had "only crawled over the line thanks to guarantees that the public purse, not private investors, will carry the can for the inevitable cost overruns".She added: "It is astounding that it is only now, as contracts are being signed, that the government has confessed that Sizewell C's cost has almost doubled to an eye watering £38bn - a figure that will only go up." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
