The impact of Labour’s huge tax bonanza was laid bare today as figures showed Brits getting poorer this year.
Official national accounts painted a dismal picture, with growth slightly worse than previously thought in the second quarter of the year.
But the situation for households was even bleaker, with the ONS now saying there has been no improvement in wealth on a per head basis in 2025.
Previously there had been a 0.2 per cent improvement in June to September, but that has been revised down to zero.
RHDI per head fell 0.9 per cent in the first quarter and 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, giving a nearly 1.7 per cent drop overall so far this year.
The ONS said the fall in RHDI per head was ‘driven mainly by an increase in taxes on income and wealth’ – with the Treasury’s raids offsetting rises in wages
The findings are particularly embarrassing for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves as they have trumpeted the RHDI metric as a way of judging the promise to put more money in the pockets of ‘working people’
Official national accounts painted a dismal picture, with growth slightly worse than previously thought in the second quarter of the year
The findings are particularly embarrassing for Keir Starmer as he has trumpeted the metric as a way of judging his promise that ‘working people will have more money in their pocket’.
The ONS said the fall in RHDI per head was ‘driven mainly by an increase in taxes on income and wealth’ – with the Treasury’s raids offsetting rises in wages.
ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said: ‘Today’s updated figures paint the same picture as our initial estimate, with growth continuing to slow in the third quarter.
‘Growth in services were partially offset by falls in production, with a marked drop in car manufacturing.
‘Our latest figures show the household saving ratio, whilst falling in recent periods, remains high by historic standards.’
