Green Party leader Zack Polanski was savaged for living in “La la land” after suggesting the government should be able to borrow as much as it wants to pay for welfare. He also said scrapping the two-child benefit cap in the Budget would be a “victory” but urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to go further and “tax the rich”.
He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “It’s absolutely outrageous it has taken the Labour Government so long to do it, but if they do do it, that’ll be a victory and I’ll celebrate it.
“More widely though, we know that this Chancellor will keep talking about tough choices, but they always seem to be tough choices for people out of work or working people who are working really hard while their wages aren’t going up but food prices are going up, for disabled people.
“When are we going to see tough choices for multi-millionaires and billionaires?
“It’s time to tax the rich.”
He also suggested there should be no limit on borrowing.
But former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane said: “It’s Lal La Land economics. This is not the time for funny money solutions.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander did not deny that Ms Reeves plans a pay-per-mile scheme in the Budget for electric vehicle (EV) drivers at the same time as adding £1.3 billion to a grant cutting the upfront costs for EV buyers.
Ms Alexander said she would not pre-empt the Budget, but told the show: “As we make the transition to electric vehicles, I think two things can be true at the same time.
“We need a fair vehicle taxation system for all motorists, because EVs, like drivers of petrol and diesel cars, they’re driving on roads that require maintenance.
“We’ve got aging infrastructure, motorways that were built back in the 60s and 70s, and so we need to have a fair taxation system that is future-focused, but we’re not going to do anything to jeopardise the transition to electric vehicles.”
She also defended the pre-Budget process, saying it has taken place on “shifting sands”.
“The review that the OBR have done about the productivity forecasts has meant that this whole process has really taken place on shifting sands to start off with, and we’ve got a very challenging global economic environment,” she told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
Her remarks came after Mr Haldane said the “fiscal fandango” of the past months had caused “paralysis” among businesses and consumers.
“Next week, we need a decisive action that puts to bed and beyond reproach any notion of further tax rises,” he said.
Unite union chief Sharon Graham urged Rachel Reeves to “be Labour” and put in a wealth tax as well as changing fiscal rules so the Government can borrow to invest.
“They need to do a wealth tax, because everyday people cannot pay any more,” she told the programme.