GB News host Martin Daubney has brutally shut down a Labour MP over Rachel Reeves’s looming Budget, declaring the Government are the “party of the work shy”.
Discussing the Chancellor potentially offering a £15billion boost to benefits in her fiscal statement, Martin told David Pinto-Duschinsky to stop blaming the Conservatives for the state of the economy and “look in the mirror”.
In Wednesday’s Budget, the Chancellor is expected to unveil £15billion of extra benefits spending, funding the move with a tax raid on the middle classes.
Ms Reeves is also expected to scrap the two-child benefit cap entirely and hike benefits payments by almost five per cent.
Delivering his scathing verdict on the plans, Martin told Mr Pinto-Duschinsky: “David, let me put this to you. You promise consistently not to raise taxes on working people, that’s a lie, because you will increase taxes on working people at the Budget when you freeze the tax threshold.
“You talk about rising wages, great, but that drags more people into more tax. Nine million people expected to pay extra tax as of Wednesday and that’s propping up a £15billion benefits bonanza. You’re not the party of working people, you’re the party of people who are work-shy!”
The Labour MP responded: “Absolutely not, and by the way, it’s this Government that’s trying to also clear up the mess of the three million jobless that the last Government left.
“And don’t forget that it was under Mel Stride’s leadership that we saw the biggest ever rise for a Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The benefits bill went up by £33billion on his watch. We are the party of work and we’re absolutely determined to turn that around.”
Martin Daubney brutally shut down Labour MP David Pinto-Duschinsky over Government plans to boost benefits
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GB NEWS
Admitting that the turnaround won’t happen “overnight”, Mr Pinto-Duschinsky explained: “But as I say, it doesn’t happen overnight, but the way you get Britain working and the way you get this economy moving is by ensuring economic stability, which brings down the interest rates.”
Martin interjected, saying: “You’re paying people billions of pounds to not work! Why can’t you kill the benefits bill?
“It’ll be great news if you’re on benefits on Wednesday, you get a nice inflation-based pay rise. Meanwhile, nine million people will get up in the morning, will be going out to work to pay for it.”
The Labour MP hit back: “It is because of the action of this Government that people who go out and work are in real terms, real disposable incomes are up 800 pounds per head.
“Wages are up more in the first ten months of this Government than in the last 10 years of the last one. We are making those changes, and in this Budget, we’ll also see more help on the cost of living.”
He added: “Already in the last few days we’ve seen rail fares frozen for the first time in 30 years, that’ll save someone coming into London from Milton Keynes commuting £315 a year. We’ve seen massive changes unveiled to the asylum system, and we’ve seen huge new projects, be it new munitions and nuclear power stations.”
Martin interjected again, swiping: “The massive change to asylum is it’s gone through the roof in terms of its cost David!”
The MP argued: “And cost is what we are actually addressing. We brought down the cost of the asylum hotels already, we’ve only been in power for a year, by a billion quid, Martin.
Mr Pinto-Duschinsky told GB News that Labour’s Budget will be one of ‘fairness’
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GB NEWS
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. There’s a lot to clear up, but we are making real progress, and you’ve seen in this Government real action already just in the last week to tackle the cost of living with a lot more to come, and that’s what this Budget will give.”
Defending the Chancellor’s Budget, Mr said: “This will be a Budget with fairness at its heart. As the Chancellor said, it will be a Budget focused on cutting the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting times and cutting the national debt.
“I know a lot of people face challenges out there, we’re absolutely mindful of them and we’re absolutely determined to take them on.
“But we’re also determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, whether it’s the incredibly damaging austerity we saw that cut public services and standard economic growth, or whether it’s borrowing beyond our means, which led to the Liz Truss meltdown, which layered loads of costs on all of us.”
Martin hit back: “David, how much longer are you going to keep blaming the Tories and Liz Truss? That was almost like a game of Labour Bingo. You’re in charge now, you guys are in charge, look in the mirror.”