https://sputnikglobe.com/20220609/on-your-side-johnson-sets-out-plan-for-cost-of-living-crisis-1096157114.html
On Your Side? Johnson Sets Out Plan for Cost-of-Living Crisis
On Your Side? Johnson Sets Out Plan for Cost-of-Living Crisis
Sputnik International
PM Boris Johnson's "reset" speech appealed to both citizens struggling to make ends meet amid rampant inflation and traditional Conservatives opposed to the... 09.06.2022, Sputnik International
2022-06-09T17:52+0000
2022-06-09T17:52+0000
2023-05-28T15:19+0000
boris johnson
britain
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ukraine crisis
housing
inflation
energy crisis
united kingdom (uk)
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Britain's Prime Minister has set out his plan to ease the cost of living crisis and turn around his own political fortunes.Speaking in the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool on Thursday afternoon, 48 hours after narrowly surviving a no-confidence vote by his own party's MPs, Boris Johnson announced a series of measures to address housing and fuel costs.The Tory PM stole the opposition Labour Party's slogan "on your side", repeating it 10 times during the speech. Johnson said the country was "steering into the wind" amid the energy crisis prompted by sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine. He warned that household bills and service station prices would stay high for "a while to come" and that there was no "quick fix" for the Ukraine conflict but insisted: "We'll get through it, just as we got through the far greater challenge of COVID."But he also appealed to traditional Conservatives disgruntled with the government's tax-and-spend policies to tide laid-off workers through the COVID-19 pandemic and help the National Health Service (NHS) catch up with a backlog of tests and treatments."The overall burden of taxation is now very high – and sooner or later, and I would much rather it was sooner than later, that burden must come down," he stressed. "The answer is economic growth. You can’t spend your way out of inflation, and you can’t tax your way into growth."The PM also announced a "comprehensive review" of the mortgage lending market — already trailed that morning by Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove — to "unbolt the door to home ownership".Johnson pointed out that the average home cost nine times the average income — twice as much as banks and building societies will lend.And he said many young people were in the "ludicrous situation" of earning enough to pay "astronomical rent bills" but unable to save the 10 percent deposit needed to get a mortgage on a home, thanks to "spiralling" property prices.The government will also end the scourge of unfair leasehold terms" and "supercharge leaseholders' ability to buy their own freehold" by offering a discount of up to 90 percent for those paying "egregious escalating ground rents".And Johnson said the existing right to buy scheme for council tenant would be extended to those renting housing associations. But he stressed that the money raised would be used to build new housing stock on a "one-for-one replacement" basis.But he struck a radical progressive note when he said taxpayer-funded housing benefit for rent receive by the unemployed and low earners was being "swallowed" by private landlords.Johnson also urged oil companies and refiners not to profiteer from the crisis, as the cost of filling up a family car hit £100 that day. The PM brushed off one reporter's suggestion that he would be unable to carry the programme through when 41 percent of Conservative MPs voted against him in Tuesday evening's no-confidence ballot.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220608/uk-could-be-worst-hit-by-economic-fallout-from-ukraine-conflict-1096124915.html
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boris johnson, britain, great britain, ukraine crisis, housing, inflation, energy crisis, united kingdom (uk)
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On Your Side? Johnson Sets Out Plan for Cost-of-Living Crisis
17:52 GMT 09.06.2022 (Updated: 15:19 GMT 28.05.2023) PM Boris Johnson's "reset" speech appealed to both citizens struggling to make ends meet amid rampant inflation and traditional Conservatives opposed to the government's tax-and-spend policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain's Prime Minister has set out his plan to ease the cost of living crisis and turn around his own political fortunes.
Speaking in the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool on Thursday afternoon, 48 hours after narrowly surviving a no-confidence vote by his own party's MPs, Boris Johnson announced a series of measures to address housing and fuel costs.
The Tory PM stole the opposition Labour Party's slogan "on your side", repeating it 10 times during the speech.
Johnson said the country was "steering into the wind" amid the energy crisis prompted by sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine.
He warned that household bills and service station prices would stay high for "a while to come" and that there was no "quick fix" for the Ukraine conflict but insisted: "We'll get through it, just as we got through the far greater challenge of COVID."
But he also appealed to traditional Conservatives disgruntled with the government's tax-and-spend policies to tide laid-off workers through the COVID-19 pandemic and help the National Health Service (NHS) catch up with a backlog of tests and treatments.
"When you face inflationary pressure, you can’t just spend your way out of it. On the contrary, you have to be careful not to add to inflationary pressure." Johnson said. "That won’t happen if we continue to apply the same mindset that we had during COVID: that the answer to every problem is more state spending."
"The overall burden of taxation is now very high – and sooner or later, and I would much rather it was sooner than later, that burden must come down," he stressed. "The answer is economic growth. You can’t spend your way out of inflation, and you can’t tax your way into growth."
The PM also announced a "comprehensive review" of the mortgage lending market — already
trailed that morning by Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove — to "unbolt the door to home ownership".
Johnson pointed out that the average home cost nine times the average income — twice as much as banks and building societies will lend.
And he said many young people were in the "ludicrous situation" of earning enough to pay "astronomical rent bills" but unable to save the 10 percent deposit needed to get a mortgage on a home, thanks to "spiralling" property prices.
The government will also end the scourge of unfair leasehold terms" and "supercharge leaseholders' ability to buy their own freehold" by offering a discount of up to 90 percent for those paying "egregious escalating ground rents".
And Johnson said the existing right to buy scheme for council tenant would be extended to those renting housing associations. But he stressed that the money raised would be used to build new housing stock on a "one-for-one replacement" basis.
But he struck a radical progressive note when he said taxpayer-funded housing benefit for rent receive by the unemployed and low earners was being "swallowed" by private landlords.
Johnson also urged oil companies and refiners not to profiteer from the crisis, as the cost of filling up a family car hit £100 that day.
The PM brushed off one reporter's suggestion that he would be unable to carry the programme through when 41 percent of Conservative MPs voted against him in Tuesday evening's no-confidence ballot.
