Meeting held on Wednesday 19th March 2025.
Seven people were present. Five gave their apologies.
We discussed Labour plans for reform and savings on the Welfare budget that would involved some cuts to sickness benefits. This is a response to sickness benefit costs rising and being expected to rise much more. There appeared to be little analysis of why sickness was rising, but the assumption was that the problem was an increase in benefits claims rather than an increase in sickness. This was thought to be partly a consequence of ‘over-diagnosis’. There was dismay that, again, it was the poor and disadvantaged who were being made to pay for increased costs (in particular the increased costs of defence). Many claims were made on the basis of anxiety.
Labour policies have been presented in a way that mixes two separate issues: the need to reform the welfare system; the need to limit rising costs of welfare. We supported the need for the former but were concerned that the rising costs should be born by “those with the broadest shoulders”. It appears that it is increasingly difficult for the Labour Government to take money from the rich, even though that would be a popular move. The Tory press was blamed for Labour’s reluctance to increase taxes on the wealthy. Wealth taxes – we are told – are difficult to raise, although we thought that France has some success at this.
A problem was seen to be Rachel Reeves’s concern to keep to the Tory Party’s ‘fiscal rules’ and a refusal to acknowledge alternative economic theories. ‘Growth’ was assumed to be desirable rather than equality, in direct opposition to economists like Pickerty and others who have shown how wellbeing is stronger in more equal societies rather than in wealthier societies.
There was a brief discussion of housing and how ‘buy to let’ has not been a successful policy but has lead to increasing inequality. Would this lack of progress in addressing inequality lead to problems in the next local elections, in May? We saw a danger from Reform which claimed to be attracting support from Labour as well as Tory voters, and councillors defecting from Labour as well as Tory to Reform. In passing, we noted how voters tend to be unaware of the different roles of County, Borough and District Councils.
On green issues, the Tories appear to be moving to abandon the commitment to net zero by 2050. Will Labour hold fast to its commitments for energy transition?
There was a final very brief discussion of Ukraine and the threat that Putin poses was challenged. Plenty of disagreement here!
The next meeting will be on April 16th.