We need to slash waste not hike taxes

FASTEN your seatbelts for a shedload of grim economic news tomorrow.

Rachel Reeves will tell the Commons that the nation’s finances are in even more dire straits than previously thought.

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The Chancellor is likely to say she has found a £20billion black hole in the country’s coffers and the Tories have left Britain broke and broken.

Of course, all incoming governments blame the last lot for the mess the country is in.

We already know the last government’s economic legacy is shocking.

And the new Chancellor has precious little room for manoeuvre.

Our debt as a proportion of GDP is almost 100 per cent.

That’s what comes from the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and the ongoing turbulence of Putin’s Ukraine war.

Labour big beast Pat McFadden says: “We will not shy away from being honest with the public about the reality of what we have inherited.’’

That is fine. As long as the Government is also honest about some of the choices it is making.

Ms Reeves is considering a £10billion splurge on an inflation-busting 5.5 per cent pay rise for public sector workers.

Meanwhile Labour has been evasive about potential new tax hikes on pensions, shares or property.

The public sector remains grotesquely wasteful.

How about making some spending cuts, rather than increasing the size of the State even further?

Justice for victims

FAR too often the rights of criminals outweigh those of their victims.

So ending the power of killers and rapists to bar victims or their relatives from parole hearings is long overdue.

Both paedophile pop star Gary Glitter and murderer Jon Venables have in the past been able to avoid confronting the families they devastated face to face.

Those who have suffered from crime must no longer be denied the right to witness these vital hearings in person.

Justice must be seen to be done.

Gold goes to Britain

BRITAIN has seen its fair share of rain-soaked ceremonies.

So we wouldn’t have wished for the torrent that fell on Paris’s Olympic extravaganza.

It was nevertheless full of spectacular moments, such as Celine Dion’s stunning performance at the Eiffel Tower.

But whose idea was the tasteless “diverse” recreation of the Last Supper?

Compared to the Queen, James Bond and the Spice Girls at London 2012 that stunt was about as appealing a soggy croissant.