Is Rachel Reeves ready to rip up Labour’s rulebook before this budget blows up in her face?

You certainly wouldn’t expect a former Tory Adviser like me to be pleased with whatever the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, says next week.

But the prosperity of the country is obviously much more important than partisan politics, and we should all wish Reeves well. With that in mind, here are some ideas that I would advise Reeves to pursue if I were advising her.

One idea to help business, one for individuals, and one for the nation’s finances as a whole.

To help businesses, she really needs to look again at the Employment Rights Bill. There are a host of damaging elements to it, but the most damaging to swathes of small businesses will be that trade unions are to be allowed full access to any company with 21 or more employees.

Small business is terrified of the burden of this. Standing up to the demands of Labour’s traditional Union overlords would boost business confidence and show the bond markets she is serious.

For individuals, little is worse than high inflation. But with a clever move, Reeves could ease this pressure and confound those who think of her as a killjoy Roundhead at the same time.

This would be by moving from one measure of inflation, the flawed Retail Price Index, to the Consumer Price Index. RPI runs about one percent above its superior cousin CBI.

But it is still used to calculate tax rises in goods, such as fuel, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as rail fares, business rates and even student loan repayments.

This means that the duties on petrol, beer, cigarettes, petrol, train tickets and more rise faster than the actual rate of inflation, creating a stealth tax on consumers.

This simple change would let consumers would benefit from lower costs. And it would let Reeves paint herself as someone making enjoyable parts of life a little easier, and dulling various attacks from Reform’s Cavalier leader, Nigel Farage.

And for the economy as a whole, she should ignore the calls from leftist backbenchers and declare an intention to reduce overall spending, especially on welfare.

The failure of Labour to curtail runaway benefits spending has spooked markets and hurt Reeves’ own credibility. The infamous quote from one backbencher ““I don’t understand why this means tax rises when it’s only a few billion pounds” sums up the fiscal illiteracy that has plagued Westminster for years.

Bill Clinton once stole the mantle of fiscal responsibility from the Republicans in a political masterstroke. America was on course for a time to eliminate its’ national debt entirely.

Just imagine if Reeves was disciplined enough to do the same. It’s wishful thinking, perhaps, but failure to do this could lead for a full sovereign debt crisis before the end of this parliament.

I understand that these are distinctively un-Labour ideas, but by outmanoeuvring her critics and making life easier for individuals and businesses, Reeves could confound expectations and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. For all our sake’s, I wish her the best of luck; she’s going to need it.

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James Price is a former Conservative Senior Special Adviser and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

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