GB News host Eamonn Holmes has demanded Labour define the term ‘strivers’ during a lively interview on The People’s Channel.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in the Sunday papers that her budget aims to help so-called ‘strivers’, a term Eamonn feels is vague and does little to assure many.
Asked to give a definition, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden responded: “Somebody that goes out and tries hard every day is what I would say a striver is.”
Eamonn hit back: “Is that not most people, Pat? What I’m getting at is, you politicians have problems saying what you mean.
Eamonn Holmes questioned Reeves’ latest claim
GB NEWS / PA
“If you’re talking about poor people, talk about poor people. Why can’t you say, ‘this is to help a few people who feel disenfranchised, to put a few quid in their pocket?’
“Why can’t you just identify what a striver is?”
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Pat McFadden joined Eamonn Holmes and Nana Akua on GB News
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McFadden said: “We have had a lot of discussion in recent days about definitions, job descriptions and people’s earning levels and so on. That isn’t the way to look at it.
“The way to look at it is to look at what we said in our manifesto. About income tax, national insurance and VAT.
“The question is, will we keep to those promises when the Budget comes out on Wednesday? I know we will. That is what we meant when we used that language.
“The best way to think about this is in the context of the promises we made in our manifesto.”
Rachel Reeves will unveil her first Budget this week
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Sir Keir Starmer is set to tell Britons in a speech that the Budget will embrace the “harsh light of fiscal reality” while insisting “better days are ahead”.
The Prime Minister will warn of “unprecedented” economic challenges and invite the public to judge him on his ability to rise to them as he sets the tone for Wednesday’s announcement.
He is expected to promise the Budget will “ignore the populist chorus of easy answers” amid a series of expected tax hikes, including an increase to employer national insurance by at least one percentage point.
Reeves has admitted she will raise some taxes, pointing to a £22 billion black hole in the public finances which ministers say was left behind by their Tory predecessors, but has not specified which ones.
Capital gains tax, inheritance tax and fuel duty are among some of the other levers she could pull to raise revenue.
The Prime Minister will say the Budget will be underpinned by a commitment to stability when he speaks on Monday.