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Starmer leaves parliament with a jobs crisis in his wake. I urge his successor to tax tech rather than humans, writes James Reed in today’s Notebook
Let’s back humans and tax the robots
So, the UK is to get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years. If a major business had undergone as many changes of leadership in such a short period of time, you’d start to suspect something was seriously wrong with the firm itself.
Having said that, I can’t pretend I am very sorry to see the departure of Keir Starmer and, by extension, his Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Having been elected on a platform of promising to prioritise economic growth above all else, too often they appeared to do just the opposite. Take their biggest single economic decision: to tax jobs despite being the “workers’ party”. I warned that hiking employers’ National Insurance by £25bn would be a disaster for the labour market, and so it proved.
Doing so to keep spending more and more money on benefits made the decision even worse.
Now we at least have the chance for a major reset, both in terms of policy and particularly the government’s relationship with business.
With youth unemployment in danger of spiralling out of control, ministers in a new Cabinet need to be very careful about how they apply the new Employment Rights Bill – particularly extensions to rights to flexible working.
There is evidence that hikes to the National Living Wage – while well intentioned – have become a significant impediment to hiring. A rethink on future rises is required.
Disastrous measures hitting the backbone of the economy, family businesses and farmers, with new death taxes should be dumped.
We also need to correct the historic mistake of the National Insurance rise. Yes, that will require significant expenditure – so let’s scrap the unfair triple lock on pensions and get serious about welfare reform.
We should also look at taxing AI, which is destroying swathes of entry-level white-collar jobs, to pay for lower taxes on work. Let’s back humans and tax the robots.
I believe the next election will be won or lost on the economy – and specifically jobs. Politicians that show they are determined to help the next generation succeed will win not just their votes, but those of their worried parents.
There is everything to play for.
Starmer’s three big mistakes
Why did Keir Starmer not succeed? In leadership terms, there are three reasons. First, he made bad decisions, starting with cuts to the winter fuel allowance. Second, he was a poor communicator. Even when his government was doing good things, such as cutting NHS waiting lists or getting immigration under control, he couldn’t get this across. His early response to the murders in Southport was robotic and unempathetic. Finally, he didn’t build a strong team. Successful leaders need to do all three things. If, as looks inevitable, Andy Burnham is our next Prime Minister, it’s already clear he will be a far better communicator than Starmer. Let’s hope he can master the rest: I wish him every success.
Climate sceptics get hot under the collar
The Met Office has issued a red weather warning for today and tomorrow in London and the South East, with temperatures set to break 40 degrees, which would shatter all previous records for June.
Unfortunately, the UK simply doesn’t have the infrastructure for such conditions. Will we need to install air conditioning in every home and workplace? There is no doubt our climate is changing and sceptics who have insisted we have always had hot summers look more and more out of touch.
Tuchel can triumph
I’m a lifelong Chelsea fan, so I know a thing or two about the current England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Under his watch, Chelsea beat Manchester City (the last time we did so) in the Champions League final in Porto in 2021. Tuchel is a brilliant manager in tense tournaments, bringing laughter, intensity and purpose. I remember him leading the team onto the pitch for that match and everyone looking like they were really enjoying themselves, apparently free from the weight of expectation or self-doubt. If any manager can take us to World Cup victory, it’s Tuchel.
A West End recommendation
I greatly enjoyed the production of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Noël Coward theatre, starring Olivier Award winner Adrian Lester. It has transferred to the West End following a sold out, critically acclaimed run with the Royal Shakespeare Company. It’s a wonderful story of unrequited love, self-sacrifice and the tension between inner beauty and outward appearance.