Fear of facing the future has British politics stuck in the past |
Hollywood has stopped betting on original ideas. Sequels and remakes dominate the box office. Among this year’s Christmas movie releases are Zootropolis 2 (the first Zootropolis came out in 2016), Avatar: Fire and Ash (third in a series that began in 2009), and Wicked: For Good (part two of the adaptation of a musical that premiered in 2003).
New stories are risky. It is safer to retell old ones. British politics feels similarly afflicted by paralysis of the imagination, intimidated by change, stuck in a narrative loop.
After much pre-publicity, last week finally saw the release of the Rachel Reeves fiscal blockbuster, Budget II: the Quest for More Headroom.
The plot was not very different from 2024’s Budget I: Filling a Black Hole.
Both times the chancellor was under pressure to consolidate public finances without starving state services or breaking an election pledge not to use the Treasury’s biggest revenue-raising levers. Both times she hiked other taxes, clinging to the letter of the manifesto while shredding it in spirit.
Reviews for the sequel were bad, but Labour MPs are happy that action has been taken to alleviate child poverty. Bond markets stayed calm, which the Treasury chalks up as a win.
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, denounced Reeves for presenting “a budget for Benefits Street, paid for by working people”. No marks for........