283. Does the UK need to be rich?
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Is the UK stuck in a debt and tax doom loop?
You were in government for 14 blooming years. You look at that 14 years, growth remained anemic.
That feels a bit unfair on the electorate that you only realise this as you come out.
A doctor earning 100 grand, the state was borrowing 25 grand to be paid by future generations to pay that doctor's salary. Normally you'll get a kind of gimmicky announcement at a budget...
So you admit you do gimmicks at the start?
There's too much gimmicks on all sides in politics. Empowering regional mayors to sort out problems like properly transforming the welfare system so that people have incentives to take jobs and not remain parked on welfare.
You did two national insurance cuts at a cost of 20 billion and actually it was just an electoral bribe. Nonsense.
And let me just explain that because...
This episode is brought to you by Octopus Energy. Greg Jackson, the CEO, is with us now. So, Greg, I've got a question for you. Is it true that by 2040 in China there will be no petrol stations because everyone will be driving electric cars?
Yeah, crazy as it seems, the Chinese state oil company, the one in charge of its petrol stations, is planning on having none by 2040. If you visit China today, what's really striking is the roads... They're quiet. I mean, all of the two-wheeled vehicles that used to pump out pollution and noise are now electric. Pretty much all the taxis, buses, increasingly more than half the private cars that are sold are now electric. And even this year, so far, 25% of their trucks are electric. So that electrification means that they're going to be less affected by global oil shocks and they won't have any petrol stations.
Greg, thank you very much. Now on with today's episode.
Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Money with me, Steph McGovern.
And with me, Rob Paston.
How can we cut welfare spending effectively?
Now today we've got Jeremy Hunt with us, former Chancellor, of course, Tory Chancellor. He's held other big roles in Cabinet as well. And of course, he was the person Liz Truss turned to.
She did. I mean, literally days before she was forced out herself. She brought him in to replace Kwate Kwate after the disastrous mini budget when we saw bonds plummeting, real risk that the government wasn't going to be able to borrow. And actually, if you haven't yet listened to our three part series on the Truss debacle, it's still there. It's still relevant.
Who killed Liz Truss is what that series is called. It's worth a listen.
Today, what we want to focus on is how to revive the economy. I mean, Jeremy Hunt is somebody who was health secretary, he was foreign secretary, he was culture secretary, and then he was chancellor. And so there are very few people, actually, who understand more about why governments find it so difficult to to actually take the difficult decisions that are necessary to revive the economy.
Here's our interview with Jeremy Hunt. Jeremy, it's lovely to have you on the show. I think last time we spoke to you was in number 11 when you were Chancellor.
What role do regional mayors play in tax and spending decisions?
In the Oak Panel dining room, if I remember rightly.
It was indeed. Since then, I need to start by saying thanks to you because you helped me win £125,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? How did I do that? Because you were the answer to one of the questions. What was the question? The question was, which Chancellor has also held other Cabinet roles? And then the list was, God, I can't remember who was on the list.
Oh, I see.
Yeah. So you had a choice of... Chancellors. So it was obviously Rachel Reeves and you. And yeah, I can't remember the other two. And I knew you were the answer.
And you didn't need to phone a friend?
I didn't. I just knew straight away. Yeah.
Well, I would have been very shocked if you hadn't had the answer.
I know, well, yeah. It might have been the end of our beautiful relationship. But I just want to say that money has gone directly into helping a charity in Middlesbrough and they've managed to get property with the money. So that is a direct investment you have made into the Middlesbrough area.
I'm going to take all the credit I can because we don't get very much involved.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Is the UK stuck in a debt and tax doom loop?
0:01–2:00
2
How can we cut welfare spending effectively?
2:00–3:20
3
What role do regional mayors play in tax and spending decisions?
3:20–4:17
4
What lessons can the UK learn from Mississippi's economic strategies?
4:17–6:15
5
Why is economic growth important for future generations?
6:15–8:01
6
How does the UK's economic situation compare to other countries?
8:01–10:14
7
What are the proposed reforms to the welfare system?
10:14–13:44
8
How can we make the economy work for everyone in the UK?
13:44–54:00
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from The Rest Is Money
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315. Why we should all care about Japan’s rising rates
314. Why do the tech bros really want more regulation?
313. Ruth Curtice: middle earners need to be taxed more
312. What's missing from Healey's growth plan?