313. Ruth Curtice: middle earners need to be taxed more

The UK government faces a critical reduction in fiscal headroom, with estimates falling from £24 billion to approximately £5 billion due to surging debt interest and global economic volatility. Ruth Curtice of the Resolution Foundation highlights that this diminished buffer leaves the Chancellor with limited flexibility to address mounting pressures in defense, social care, and infrastructure. Bond markets currently view the UK as a high-risk, unstable economy, exacerbated by a reliance on mobile international investors and frequent political leadership changes. While the tax burden on average earners has reached record highs, the current system remains structurally inefficient. Restoring market confidence requires more than incremental adjustments; it necessitates transparent, long-term reforms to public spending and wealth taxation to address the underlying fiscal instability and avoid further volatility in government debt pricing.