Mini-Budget: Attacks on Trade Unions, Tax Cuts for the Rich

As chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his mini-budget on Friday, the government attacked labour unions and welfare recipients while cutting taxes for the wealthy and allowing bankers' bonuses to soar.

"At such a critical time for our economy, it is just intolerable that strike action is disturbing so many lives," Kwarteng said in a statement to the legislature regarding strikes. In order to prevent militant trade unions from shutting down transport networks during strikes, other European nations have minimum service standards. So, we'll follow suit.

"And we'll keep going. We'll pass legislation requiring unions to submit salary proposals for member approval, ensuring that strikes can only be called if actual deadlock has been reached in discussions.

As chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his mini-budget on Friday, the government attacked labour unions and welfare recipients while cutting taxes for the wealthy and allowing bankers' bonuses to soar.

"At such a critical time for our economy, it is just intolerable that strike action is disturbing so many lives," Kwarteng said in a statement to the legislature regarding strikes. In order to prevent militant trade unions from shutting down transport networks during strikes, other European nations have minimum service standards. So, we'll follow suit.

"And we'll keep going. We'll pass legislation requiring unions to submit salary proposals for member approval, ensuring that strikes can only be called if actual deadlock has been reached in discussions.

As chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his mini-budget on Friday, the government attacked labour unions and welfare recipients while cutting taxes for the wealthy and allowing bankers' bonuses to soar.

"At such a critical time for our economy, it is just intolerable that strike action is disturbing so many lives," Kwarteng said in a statement to the legislature regarding strikes. In order to prevent militant trade unions from shutting down transport networks during strikes, other European nations have minimum service standards. So, we'll follow suit.

"And we'll keep going. We'll pass legislation requiring unions to submit salary proposals for member approval, ensuring that strikes can only be called if actual deadlock has been reached in discussions.

"A budget entirely for the 1%," declared former opposition chancellor and MP John McDonnell. The richest 1% of our society stand to gain from the repeal of the 45p tax rate. The most polarising budget in a generation is created when the cap on bankers' bonuses is raised and assistance for the unemployed are threatened with reduction.

The Unite trade union's general secretary, Sharon Graham, referred to it as "unashamedly a budget for the rich, big business, and the City... Millions of average families will continue to struggle to make ends meet while billionaires and city bankers will once again be debating which tax haven they will store their money in.

Mark Littlewood, the general manager of the Institute for Economic Affairs, a neoliberal advocacy group with a secretive funding source.

Cancelled tax cuts; new Chancellor appointed

Tax cuts were announced in the mini-budget, which would have resulted in an annual increase in the budget deficit of £45 billion by 2026–2027. Some of these policies were later dropped by the government. Prior to the Chancellor's declaration on October 17, almost £25 billion in tax cuts were still in effect.

The government announced on October 3, 2022, that it would not be eliminating the 45% extra rate of income tax. The then-Chancellor stated that it is "obvious that the eradication of the 45p tax rate has become a diversion from our overarching objective to tackle the issues facing our economy" when announcing the decision to forgo the tax cut.

On October 14, Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to succeed outgoing Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. The government would "maintain the rise in corporation tax that was planned by the previous government," the prime minister added. A proposed rise in the main rate of company tax from 19% to 25% in April 2023 was cancelled by the mini-budget. According to the PM's statement, the rate will increase to 25% in April 2023.

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