If Jeremy #Corbyn becomes PM on Friday 13th, here's my rundown of 13 of #Labour’s worst policies which will hurt many, not just the few.
PS. I could have chosen a completely different 13, and these are in no particular order… (thread)
#GeneralElection19
PS. I could have chosen a completely different 13, and these are in no particular order… (thread)
#GeneralElection19
1. Expropriating up to 10% of the value of corporate equity. Employee share ownership is usually a good thing, but dictating the terms would deter job creation and investment, and encourage firms to relocate overseas. More explanation here... capx.co/the-10-share-p…
2. Rent controls. Almost all economists agree that these are a bad idea and, like many of Labour’s policies, would actually end up hurting the very people they are supposed to help. And before replying ‘well, it works in Germany', read this… iea.org.uk/blog/qtwtain-h…
3. Paying £58bn to women affected by changes in the SPA announced back in the 1990s and 2000s (the Coalition only accelerated the transition). An even odder priority than abolishing tuition fees and restoring student grants. Helpful primer on #WASPI here… coppolacomment.com/2015/12/here-i…
4. Banning (or in Labour-speak, ‘ending’) ‘zero hours contracts’. If you have one and like the flexibility, tough. The government knows best. And the unions will be negotiating your pay and conditions from now on anyway.
5. Banning (or in Labour-speak, ‘integrating’) private schools and seizing their assets. Disruptive, vindictive and costly. A huge expansion of state control over a family’s right to choose how to educate their children.
6. Reducing full-time weekly working hours to 32 ‘across the economy’ (but won’t say whether this includes the #NHS), ‘with no loss of pay, funded by productivity increases.’ Unrealistic and hugely costly, especially for the public sector. More here... cps.org.uk/research/the-c…
7. Giving workers full employment rights ‘from day 1’, before they have had time to demonstrate their value to their employer. This will simply make firms more reluctant to take on new staff. Indeed, all Labour’s policies here would reduce flexibility and discourage job creation.
8. Scrap #UniversalCredit. Most agree that problems in the implementation of UC have contributed to the increased use of #foodbanks (see below for more context). But ditching UC altogether would only create further upheaval for those who now depend on it. julianhjessop.com/2019/04/25/sho…
9. ‘Free’ #broadband for all. Creating what would soon become a state broadband monopoly would be a huge and costly step in the wrong direction – as they have found out in Australia. More here… julianhjessop.com/2019/11/16/lab…
10. Renationalisation. Public ownership and reduced competition lowers productivity and undermines both choice and quality. Big questions too around the compensation to be paid to shareholders, including UK pensioners. More specifically on water here... julianhjessop.com/2019/06/22/sho…
11. Big hikes in corporation tax. Most serious economists agree that the burden of CT falls on customers and especially workers, not just shareholders. Smaller increases for smaller businesses, but many of these will be hit even harder by the changes to the taxation of dividends.
12. Big increases in the national minimum wage practically overnight, with no protection for young people most at risk of being priced out of jobs. The NMW has worked well so far because it has been set at sensible levels, based on independent advice. Labour’s plans are reckless.
13. Brexit. Labour would prolong the uncertainty even further, and blow any chance of getting a good long-term deal. The only choices at a repeat referendum would be ‘Brexit in name only’, or Remain. The 2016 result would be betrayed, and more energy wasted in the meantime. 🙄
