A bricklayer working in all weathers this winter has blasted Rachel Reeves with a mocking social media post saying – “some days I want to give up but there’s people on benefits depending on me”. The withering broadside against the Chancellor, who has been accused of splurging on welfare payments, was posted by bricklayer Don Daniels on his Instagram account and has since attracted nearly 100,000 likes.
Mr Daniels, 36, who lives in Leeds, West Yorks, shared a video with his followers three days ago in the wake of Ms Reeves’s Budget, which has awarded thousands of pounds to larger families on benefits by scrapping the two-child cap, and increased the burden on the taxpayer and businesses. Standing with his foot on some bricks in freezing conditions with snow falling around him, Mr Daniels wrote under his post, seemingly addressing those not in work. He said: “Stay at home in the warm. My tax has got you covered.”
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), abolishing the two-child cap is expected to cost the taxpayer around £3.1 billion by 2029/30. Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride said keeping the cap was the “responsible” thing to do, describing Ms Reeves’ autumn statement as a “Budget for welfare, not work.”
The Chancellor said she was “asking everyone to make a contribution” when she spoke at the despatch Box in Parliament last week, delivering a £30bn package of tax increases.
It has been said that Ms Reeves’s Budget will hit middle earners the hardest, with a combination of tax hikes and a freeze on the income tax threshold. The freeze in thresholds will result in 780,000 more basic-rate, 920,000 more higher-rate, and 4,000 more additional-rate income tax payers in 2029/30 as earnings rise over time. Scotland has a separate income tax system.
People are dragged into paying 20% income tax if their earnings rise above £12,570, with the 40% rate from £50,271 and the 45% band from £125,140. Speaking to The Guardian, the Chancellor defended her recent Budget as “fair and necessary”, saying more of the economic “burden” of her decisions should fall on the wealthy.
Commenting on Mr Daniel’s social media post, it seems the majority of people viewing his video are not convinced the Budget is fair. One person wrote: “Funny but also very true and a sad reflection of broken Britain.”
Another added: “People in their 70s still working full time while people in their 20s claim for years.”
Someone else pointed out: “I’m 75 worked all my life and I’m being taxed on my pension for these unfortunate souls.”
Elsewhere, Downing Street has been forced to deny that the Chancellor misled the public and markets when she warned of difficult decisions needed to fill a black hole in the public finances. There were warnings ahead of the Budget that Rachel Reeves could face as much as a £20 billion gap in meeting her self-imposed fiscal rule of not borrowing for day-to-day spending.
However, a letter from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), published on Friday, revealed that it had informed the Chancellor as early as September 17 that prevailing economic conditions meant the gap would be significantly smaller.
It was later informed her in October that the spending gap had closed altogether. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the letter showed Ms Reeves had “lied to the public” and should be sacked.
Downing Street was asked on Friday whether Ms Reeves’ warnings of coming difficult decisions despite the OBR’s improved forecasting meant she had misled the public and the markets in the run-up to the Budget.
“I don’t accept that,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
He added: “As she set out in the speech that she gave here (Downing Street), she talked about the challenges the country was facing and she set out her decisions incredibly clearly at the Budget.”
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