I wonder how long it will be before we see him Stateside again on some random junket with his tongue firmly up his master’s arse?
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Just on this, I’m waiting for the next completely outrageous, racist, sexist, homophobic, or whatever else you can think of (this last week it was autistic kids) which they then half apologise for (but not really) but keeping their support base frothing nicely.
Standard populist playbook.
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The Office for Budget Responsibility appears to have disabled the link to its economic forecasts after publishing it ahead of the chancellor’s Budget statement.
It was an extraordinary error which economists and business leaders - as well as journalists - have been making the most of by digging into the detail before Rachel Reeves was on her feet.
It’s arguably too late to try and bolt the stable door closed.
The OBR has already apologised for what it says was a technical error that it’s investigating.
It’s investigating, alright…
See above.
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I suppose it is a refreshing change to them burying the information after the announcements.
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They have become extremely adapt a that signature apology with an eye roll and a smirk, that says to their base ‘look what these libs are making us say sorry for - you know we don’t mean it really’
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I feel like I am living in the twilight zone where questions are being asked about if Farage has a history of racism. I guess there is a threshold for how long you have been in the public eye after which your overt and acknowledged racism is repacked as establishment truth telling.
But I guess we did the same in the US for people like Buchannan
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The mental gymnastics that some people are currently engaging in is quite something.
The alternative if course is that they are either comfortable with it, or pissed off enough they dont care.
EDIT. Another group would be those that just arent politically engaged enough to know
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Considering it was a massive day for the Government, and people’s lives, with the unveiling of the Budget, it has been very quiet in here!
I was wondering what people’s thoughts were on the budget?
Nb. I am not asking this question to throw it back on anyone, was just curious on the consensus between Labour voters 
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I hadn’t even seen it. Details here:
- National Insurance (NI) and income tax thresholds frozen for extra three years beyond 2028, dragging more people into higher bands over time
- Amount under-65s can put into cash Isas (Individual Savings Accounts) capped at £12,000 a year from April 2027, with the rest of the £20,000 annual allowance reserved for investments
- 2 percentage point rise to the ordinary and upper tax rates on dividend income from April, and all rates on savings income from April 2027
- Cap limiting households on universal or child tax credit from receiving payments for a third or subsequent child to be scrapped from April
- Legal minimum wage for over-21s to rise 4.1% in April, from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour, with the wage for 18 to 20-year-olds rising from £10 to £10.85
- Basic and new state pension payments to go up by 4.8% from April, more than the current rate of inflation, under the “triple lock” policy
- Amount people can “sacrifice” from their salary - thereby avoiding NI on pension contributions - capped at £2,000 a year from 2029
- Help to Save scheme, which offers people on universal credit a bonus on savings, extended and expanded beyond 2027
- 5p “temporary” cut in fuel duty on petrol and diesel extended again, until September 2026, before it rises again over six month period
- A new mileage-based tax for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars to be introduced from 2028
- Regulated rail fares for journeys in England frozen next year for the first time since 1996 (there have been periods when prices rose by less than inflation)
- Premium cars to be excluded from Motability scheme, which allows people on certain disability benefits to lease vehicles more cheaply
- Green levies taken off energy bills and paid through general taxation, in a move the Treasury says will save households £88 a year
- It says a further £59 saving will be made by scrapping a customer-funded scheme helping low-income households insulate their homes
- Tax on sugary drinks extended to pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes from 2028, reversing an exemption when the tax was introduced in 2018
- Tax on tobacco to increase by 2% above the higher RPI rate of inflation
- Tax on alcohol, including draught drinks, will also increase by the higher RPI measure in February
- Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts the UK economy will grow by 1.5% this year, upgraded from a 1% forecast in March
- But the economy is now forecast to grow by 1.5% on average between 2026 and 2029, down from the previous estimate of 1.8%
- Inflation predicted to average 3.5% this year, before falling to 2.5% next year, and returning to the government’s 2% target in 2027
- English regional mayors to be given powers to tax overnight stays in hotels and holiday lets, echoing existing plans in Scotland and Wales
- Training for apprentices under-25 will be made free for small and medium-sized companies
- Any 18 to 21-year-olds on Universal Credit not earning or learning for more than 18 months will be offered six-month paid work placements, and those not taking up the offer face being stripped of their benefits
- Planned tax on English universities’ tuition income from overseas students will be charged at £925 per student per year, from August 2028
- Cost of a single NHS prescription in England frozen at £9.90 for another year (they remain free in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- £5m will be dedicated to secondary school libraries and another £18m for improving and upgrading playgrounds across England
- Infected blood compensation will be made exempt from inheritance tax
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I suppose you can split it into 3 categories:
- Tax raising measures (including closing unintended tax avoidance loopholes)
- Economic levers - measures which are intended to alter consumer behaviour (e.g. tobacco, alcohol and sugar taxes)
- Spending that is meant to reduce poverty and improve outcomes for the population.
The tax raising measures are more of a squeeze. This won’t reduce people’s income in absolute terms, but they will find that gross income rises don’t result in as large increase in net terms.
The increases in state pension, minimum wage, and child tax credit cap will help those on lowest incomes, so from a Labour government perspective they are doing things that you would expect them to.
The raising of the child tax credit cap may also have a positive effect on the birth rate which has been declining to unsustainable levels.
The tax on electric cars looks impractical to me. I’m not sure how they plan to implement this. A carbon tax on electricity production would have been easier to implement.
Also, the change to the Motability scheme is a bit of a Brexit thing, as the intention of to move people towards British made cars. I had a look at their website, and they said that people could still have certain Mercedes vehicles which are adapted to wheelchair access, so it isn’t as mad as I thought, however this is nothing to do with disabled people as such.
The real details are always in the Treasury documents, and I expect accountants are pouring over them at the moment. The 10Y Gilts seem to have responded well, which is good, but I’m not sure if there is any real economic stimulus there.
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Just catching up. No wealth tax which has been a hot debate topic of late, or did I miss it.
Nothing in the main announcements. It rather depends on what you call a wealth tax.
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It would have been in the headlines of they went after assets or the mansion tax as rumoured.
Part of me is dissapointed with electric vehicle one. There are other options like private jets, frequent fliers and so on.
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It was always unlikely. A so called wealth tax would most likely be too complicated to deliver, particularly within this parliament which is when the government would need to show the revenues from it.
They’re not really equivalents though. The EV tax is more about replacing the expected drop in fuel duty as people switch from traditional cars.
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I’ve not heard the Brexit angle before.
Usually discussions around Motobility are about the cost of supplying the higher end of car range and whether people genuinely need the cars they get through the scheme. I would have thought therefore that this was more about cutting costs?
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I’m just astounded that people can get a Merc or a BMW as Mobility car,
will a Ford, Peugeot or Kia not do the same job?
I’ve noticed people grumbling about this on emigrant / ex-pat groups:
This doesn’t affect me, as I am fully paid up for the state pension, but it is something I thought was rather odd.
Essentially, if you were working or self-employed in the UK prior to moving abroad you could continue to pay the much lower class 2 NI contributions, rather than the more expensive class 3, which are typically aimed at those who are independently wealthy and simply paying in lieu of working.
I don’t think it will bring that much extra income in, but it might reduce further pensions liabilities.
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I don’t know enough about the scheme or its total costs but as I understand it, people trade in the mobility part of their benefits for a lease on a vehicle. People are also able to make payments in addition to this for the more expensive vehicles.
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There was this:
The lowest band covers properties valued between £2m and £2.5m, while the highest charge of £7,500 will fall on homes valued at £5m or more. The majority of the properties affected are in London
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