{"id":92792,"date":"2026-06-02T08:48:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=92792"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:48:36","slug":"pat-mcfadden-the-single-handed-explanation-for-the-mess-labour-is-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/06\/02\/pat-mcfadden-the-single-handed-explanation-for-the-mess-labour-is-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat McFadden: the single handed explanation for the mess Labour is in"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the BBC has noted<\/a>, we now know as a result of the Mandelson disclosures that:<\/p>\n

\n

The man who is now work and pensions secretary described conversations he had with other Labour politicians about the welfare system and public spending in a pretty blunt way.<\/p>\n

\"Every meeting I have is 'who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others',\" Pat McFadden wrote to Lord Mandelson in May 2025.<\/p>\n

\"They're asking the wrong questions,\" McFadden adds.<\/p>\n

Allies of McFadden point out that message was sent before he was in charge of the UK's benefits regime. He was running the cabinet office at the time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That's a lame excuse. The reality is, as I know from several meetings with him over an extended period, Pat McFadden is a man of very little intelligence, and even less curiosity. He is also a true heir to Blair, and his fundamentally neoliberal to his core. The consequences are threefold.<\/p>\n

First, he does not believe in redistribution. So very typical of Labour, these days, then.<\/p>\n

Second, he does not understand that taxes do not pay for anything.<\/p>\n

Third, he does not understand that money is created by the government when it spends.<\/p>\n

What does all this mean?<\/p>\n

First, his lack of curiosity should bar him from public office.<\/p>\n

Secondly, he should never have had a role in Labour, or in the current government, or responsibility for work and pensions.<\/p>\n

Third, he should learn to ask the right questions, because at present, he clearly cannot because he lacks the education to do so.<\/p>\n

If you want an explanation for the mess that Labour is in, Pat McFadden can provide it, single-handedly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the BBC has noted, we now know as a result of the Mandelson disclosures that: The man who is now work and pensions secretary
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