Shadow Budget 2001

Post Reply
User avatar
Sir Nicholas Mountstuart
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:31 pm
Constituency: Penrith & The Border
XP: 5
Trait(s): None
Discord username: Max

Shadow Budget 2001

Post by Sir Nicholas Mountstuart »

Image

The Shadow Chancellor Nicholas Mountstuart QC MP, unveiling the Conservative Party’s Shadow Budget - entitled ‘Let’s Unleash Britain’s Potential’.

Thank you all,

At the beginning of this new century, Britain stands at the precipice. Now more than ever, there’s a distinct choice to be made; we think the British public want a tax cutting Government which is prepared to empower its own citizens, by returning more of the money that is taken from you, and reducing how much we tax you in the first instance. The alternative is more of the same from Labour, a party stuck between a rock and a hard place; not entirely able to shake off their statist command and control tendencies on the one hand, but faced with an identity crisis with how to rectify this to the public’s appetite for a Government which supports free enterprise and economic empowerment for individuals and their families. In short, that’s what the Chancellor’s budget was - a timid, missed opportunity borne out of Labour’s need to keep the markets on side at all costs, but the electorate are seeing them them for what they really are Sir Jack Anderson will wax lyrical day in, day out, like the faceless bureaucrat that he is - about the budget surplus. The reality is this, the surplus is borne out of your taxation, and he is hoarding it instead of delivering meaningful change for the families and businesses the length and breadth of this country who need it.

We will do things entirely differently; The Conservative Party is a tax cutting party, that’s why we will reverse New Labour’s stealth tax obsession and deliver more back into your pockets from the first budget. In our first budget we are committed to abolishing the starter rate of tax, and raising the personal threshold of the basic rate to £6,223. Unlike Labour's empty promises, the Conservatives will reduce the basic rate of tax from 22% to 21% in our first budget, and take it down to 20% in our second - real, tangible tax cuts. We will abolish the tax on savings and dividends, cut fuel duty by 3p -putting an end to Labour's shameful war on motorists-. As Chancellor, I will simplify and streamline the main rate of Capital Gains Tax by removing jargon and then slashing it in half, this is followed by the abolition of the starting rate of corporation tax, and a penny reduction in the smaller companies rate; let's re-ignite the entrepreneurial spirit of Britain by making it the best place in the world to start and grow a business. Innovation will be key to winning the global race, we know that the consensus view is that high and rising levels of taxation are fatal to enterprise. Our international competitors know this to be true, why doesn't our own Government?

In our first budget, the Conservatives will erect a ‘Bonfire of the Regulations’; we’ll put a stop to the inheritance left behind by Red Tape Tony and perpetuated by his successors. As much as some might think a ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’ could apply to the Labour Party’s style of governance, we’re not going to mix up our metaphors here like Sir Jack does - the Conservatives will get rid of the Climate Change Levy, a job killing regulation that has minimal impact on the environment, as well as abolishing the IR35 tax on the IT sector. The Conservatives will not hit people with increased stamp duty as the Chancellor has chosen to do, instead we will increase the bottom rate threshold to £100,000, and we'll restore Mortgage Tax Relief too - all significant savings for the average family who want to jump on to the property ladder.

The Chancellor is obsessed with vanity projects like the New Deal, which cost a lot but have little in the way of return for the taxpayer, that'll change if I'm in No 11. I will replace the New Deal with a scheme called Jobs for Britain, relying more on the private sector to find a fee to find a job for an unemployed person, and then pays them a further success fee if the person stays in the job they've found for them. Unemployed people will have a much better chance of finding lasting and worthwhile work, and our programme will cost the taxpayer less per job found.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats would have you believe that the choice is between lowering taxation and taking an axe to public services. Not so - we will match Labour's commitments to new schools and new hospitals, but instead of just throwing money at public services we will significantly reform them. We will begin by introducing Free Schools, free of Labour's bureaucracy agenda and where Headmasters and Parents will have the ultimate say on the running of those schools. In the NHS, we will promote patient choice over where their treatment should took place, and put an end to New Labour's waiting list gimmicks - it's no use sticking to artificial and undeliverable promises. The Conservative Party will be honest with the British public about waiting times, and introduce a real guarantee, instead of more of the same failure from the Government.

I am very proud of our guarantee to pensioners too, we will raise the state pension to £73.00, significantly more than either Labour or the Liberal Democrats. Our general decisions on taxation, abolition of savings tax, combined with this increase will be the first step in an attempt to end Labour's war on pensioners, which we won't know the full effects of for many years to come. Nonetheless, a Conservative Government recognises the contribution that older people have made to the economy over many decades - it's time we treated them with fairness and dignity.

When it comes to crime, policing, and asylum; we will put more police on the streets compared to the Government, and announce the creation of a new specialised UK Border Force specifically to deal with the asylum backlog that has been created by Labour's failure to address this issue. Likewise, we're going to crack down on those who want to game the system by the creation of a specialised Anti Benefits Fraud Squad - both saving the taxpayer money, and doing the right thing by the millions of British workers who go out and earn a living every day of the week.

Now, perhaps the greatest irony of New Labour is that where they have abdicated control, the economy has prospered - interest rates set by the independent Bank of England are holding steady, and that's why the Conservatives would go even further in ridding the Monetary Policy Committee of the Chancellor's control freakery by increasing its independence and making it more accountable to Parliament instead of the Chancellor and his team of Special Advisers.

This is a budget that will unleash Britain's potential, it stands in stark contrast to the one presented in the House of Commons. Indeed, I think the Chancellor got his metaphors in a bit of a twist; he thinks his approach is the difference between a tortoise and a hare. Well I take a different approach, and reject both approaches - if we relieve the burden of taxation, put more money where it matters, spend less on regulation, vanity projects and waste; then we can let the British lion roar, and unleash Britain's potential, all of her potential, as we enter in to a new century.

Shadow Budget 01: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
Rt Hon. Sir Nicholas Mountstuart Bt QC MP
Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (2001-Present)

Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border (1997-Present)
User avatar
Blakesley
A-team
A-team
Posts: 292
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:19 am
XP: 14
Trait(s): None
Discord username: Blakesley

Re: Shadow Budget 2001

Post by Blakesley »

Okay. So, this speech is more or less the opposite of Ms Flair's, which has some pros and cons.

There are a lot of policies in here. I mean, a lot. A problem that comes up is that some of these policies don't seem to be tied into a broader narrative and that's not great. Let's use the policing section of the speech. We hear about 1) more police, 2) a Border Force, and 3) an Anti Benefits Fraud Squad. But those don't get tied into a broader narrative. Narratives are important. This is something that the Conservatives did correct for the Shadow Budget press cycle (but there were other issues there). And when you introduce a policy, show how it will benefit someone ("show, don't tell").

Now, moving on with analysis. This speech suffers less from the tyranny of numbers, but it's still present. That said, the tyranny of numbers is a) less present and b) obscured by simple headline messages. There is a problem in that the Chancellor seems to live rent free in Mr Mountstuart's head - stylistically all of the references to Sir Jack are not necessary and it starts to sound a bit personal in places. That said, I can still distill two messages from this speech: 1) Tories cut taxes and 2) New Labour is failing. The second message would be stronger if there were some tangible examples brought up ("show, don't tell").

Overall, I like that I can pick out some narratives, though I would like to see others be more clear. I see a lot of policies, but the problem with a lot of policies without much explanation is it leaves me wanting more and wondering how much you could have incorporated into a set message. But it's a good attack speech. Mr Mountstuart is seen as a bulldog, but some might be interested in seeing which direction he takes economic policy in the future.

Conservatives +6

XP for Mr Mountstuart
Blakesley
Treasury | Labour
Post Reply

Return to “Marked Press Cycles & Speeches”