Off thread, and apologies for puncturing the budget gloom, but just to report that my wife (who is 45) has just been invited for a jab on Saturday. She is asthmatic, which may be bringing her forward, but still. We're into the 40-somethings now in Greater Manchester.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
This feels like a budget that may unravel. He’s painting a picture of a big hole but merely pretending he has a plan to seriously address it, whilst meanwhile continuing to spend during 2021 like there’s no tomorrow.
That was one of the predictions. As long as he can act as though the hole might one day be filled, the spendathon can continue even in non Covid stuff.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
Especially with the growth forecasts. No expert, but summat doesn't add up here.
Harry Dunn -- tragic but HMG would do better to take concrete measures like stopping US personnel importing left-hand-drive cars.
This will never happen as free shipping of private cars is cherished perk associated with a US forces PCS order. They certainly aren't going to stop it just because the British government asks them to.
Yes, and I am not sure everyone understands it is soldiers' private cars that are the problem, not official US Army jeeps. But probably something could be sorted out along the lines of block free imports and supply UK-subsidised right-hand drive cars.
I didn't know we had elected John McDonnell as CoE....
Boris won in 2019 by running on Corbyn's platform from 2017.
The Tories have no ideas other than the essentially trivial War on Woke. Once Leave and Pandemic are in the rear view mirror they will struggle.
They have such an advantage in seats it might be enough even so. And 14 years in power minimum, as they'll drag out to full term if they look like losing, will have been plenty.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
OK, the problem was there before, but this Budget has made it concrete...
The political and economic cycles are going to be horribly out of synch for the next election.
Classic government is front-load the pain in years 1 and 2, so that you get the gains (and some bonus sweeties if you've eaten all your cabbage) in Year 4. The Nike swoosh theory of Brexit just about fitted in that- for believers anyway.
Covid has prevented that, rightly so. But that means that the pain kicks in just when the government would normally be thinking about going to the country.
Could be a real bonanza for business investment over the next two years with the new rules. It really needs to be made permanent if that 25% rate is real.
Could be a real bonanza for business investment over the next two years with the new rules. It really needs to be made permanent if that 25% rate is real.
Perfect timing for the investment rules, its really needed right now.
Hopefully Corp Tax can be reduced again or the rise cancelled in the future. Its the only part of the Budget I find atrocious.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
Changes to investment rules, he said pension funds but I'd be surprised if insurance funds weren't also included.
Oh ok. Impact of that will be marginal on non-life carriers, and likely a fairly limited change to capital requirements. Good to know I still have a career!
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
So my taxes are going up via fiscal drag to pay doleies more, as is corporation tax.
Corbyn really did win the argument in the 2019 election.
The country is full of old, ill and poor people. They need to be looked after in a vaguely responsible way, which means rich people and their assets have to be soaked. You can argue, as I do, that the Government is being pushed by electoral imperatives towards going about some of this in the wrong way, but the basic principle holds.
If we don't attempt any form of redistribution to support the relatively weak then more and more people are just going to become poor, until we either have to get rid of democracy or accept the election of a Corbyn figure.
Could be a real bonanza for business investment over the next two years with the new rules. It really needs to be made permanent if that 25% rate is real.
Perfect timing for the investment rules, its really needed right now.
Hopefully Corp Tax can be reduced again or the rise cancelled in the future. Its the only part of the Budget I find atrocious.
He's going after the large corporate cash pots - invest it for growth or we'll tax it. Makes a lot of sense.
Harry Dunn -- tragic but HMG would do better to take concrete measures like stopping US personnel importing left-hand-drive cars.
This will never happen as free shipping of private cars is cherished perk associated with a US forces PCS order. They certainly aren't going to stop it just because the British government asks them to.
Yes, and I am not sure everyone understands it is soldiers' private cars that are the problem, not official US Army jeeps. But probably something could be sorted out along the lines of block free imports and supply UK-subsidised right-hand drive cars.
The US personnel don't want to drive subsidised RHD Fiestas, they want their own cars. The US have enough trouble filling overseas postings as, like the British forces, it's seen as a career killer and is very disruptive for families. They aren't going to do anything that makes it harder.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
No, Brown's deficit had nothing to do with the UK's level of exposure to the GFC. We borrowed the money to keep the economy going throughout at very low interest rates.
What mattered was his astonishingly incomptent approach to financial regulation.
So CT and fiscal drag were the only major tax increases when faced with the biggest fiscal hole in history? Larger businesses will howl, but that's quite smart politics. No personal tax rises, no capital gains raid, no new wealth taxes or other shit like that.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
No, Brown's deficit had nothing to do with the UK's level of exposure to the GFC. We borrowed the money to keep the economy going throughout at very low interest rates.
What mattered was his astonishingly incomptent approach to financial regulation.
I think you misunderstood my point. What I was saying is that Brown's deficit going into the recession being very high meant that coming out of it we were ruined.
Had the deficit been under control going into the recession then when we came out of it we'd have had a deficit but not too bad a one.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
Osborne flat-lining the recovery he inherited from Labour did not help.
So CT and fiscal drag were the only major tax increases when faced with the biggest fiscal hole in history? Larger businesses will howl, but that's quite smart politics. No personal tax rises, no capital gains raid, no wealth taxes or other shit like that.
Larger businesses are the backbone of the economy. Pushing them towards the exit door is stupid. Other countries will take note and lower their own tax rates to feast on the carcass of the UK economy.
So my taxes are going up via fiscal drag to pay doleies more, as is corporation tax.
Corbyn really did win the argument in the 2019 election.
The country is full of old, ill and poor people. They need to be looked after in a vaguely responsible way, which means rich people and their assets have to be soaked. You can argue, as I do, that the Government is being pushed by electoral imperatives towards going about some of this in the wrong way, but the basic principle holds.
If we don't attempt any form of redistribution to support the relatively weak then more and more people are just going to become poor, until we either have to get rid of democracy or accept the election of a Corbyn figure.
For the last decade and a bit my taxes have gone up a lot, I used to pay 40% then it went to 50% now it is 45%, rich people have been soaked for the last the decade and then some, I mean I don't mind paying those taxes, I'm at heart a One Nation Tory, but I'm tired of the narrative the rich don't pay their taxes.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
Osborne flat-lining the recovery he inherited from Labour did not help.
If only Labour hadnt fked the economy in the first place then we wouldnt have needed a recovery
The thing is - if you don't raise CT how else are you going to raise really substantial revenue?
Everything else is too damaging politically.
Absence of Plan B from the critics.
Cut useless spending instead. Give Scotland and Northern Ireland full fiscal autonomy; end foreign aid for now and scrap farming subsidies. Would I think save about £40bn/year.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
Osborne flat-lining the recovery he inherited from Labour did not help.
That did not happen. The UK grew faster 2010-2019 than the Eurozone or any other major European economy.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
No, Brown's deficit had nothing to do with the UK's level of exposure to the GFC. We borrowed the money to keep the economy going throughout at very low interest rates.
What mattered was his astonishingly incomptent approach to financial regulation.
I think you misunderstood my point. What I was saying is that Brown's deficit going into the recession being very high meant that coming out of it we were ruined.
Had the deficit been under control going into the recession then when we came out of it we'd have had a deficit but not too bad a one.
How were we ruined? We have continued to be able to finance our deficits and debt ever since.
Got to hand it to Rishi - he's bloody good at pulling political rabbits out of his hat.
That investment allowance looks absolutely amazing on paper. It needs to be made permanent at 100%.
It goes hand in hand with the rise in Corporation Tax. Big companies have been hoarding cash. This incentivises them to invest it. A Good Thing.
Yes. Don't want to pay 25%? Invest any surplus in the business instead. Not a terrible idea.
But the super deduction ends when that rate starts, it should be lowered to 100% and made permanent. We've needed this kind of approach to business investment for decades.
Not really got my head around all of the budget implications yet beyond the headline conclusion for me which is that I will be worse off.
But as a completely unimportant observation Sunak is by far the most articulate Chancellor we have had in a very long time. He is able to produce a speech that is genuinely inspiring and wipes the floor with the leaders of any of the other parties either now or in the recent past.
Doesn't mean I would vote for him but it is worth giving commendation where it is due.
So my taxes are going up via fiscal drag to pay doleies more, as is corporation tax.
Corbyn really did win the argument in the 2019 election.
The country is full of old, ill and poor people. They need to be looked after in a vaguely responsible way, which means rich people and their assets have to be soaked. You can argue, as I do, that the Government is being pushed by electoral imperatives towards going about some of this in the wrong way, but the basic principle holds.
If we don't attempt any form of redistribution to support the relatively weak then more and more people are just going to become poor, until we either have to get rid of democracy or accept the election of a Corbyn figure.
For the last decade and a bit my taxes have gone up a lot, I used to pay 40% then it went to 50% now it is 45%, rich people have been soaked for the last the decade and then some, I mean I don't mind paying those taxes, I'm at heart a One Nation Tory, but I'm tired of the narrative the rich don't pay their taxes.
Quite. It’s the super rich that don’t pay their taxes. And mega tech corporations
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
Osborne flat-lining the recovery he inherited from Labour did not help.
That did not happen. The UK grew faster 2010-2019 than the Eurozone or any other major European economy.
I didn't know we had elected John McDonnell as CoE....
Boris won in 2019 by running on Corbyn's platform from 2017.
The Tories have no ideas other than the essentially trivial War on Woke. Once Leave and Pandemic are in the rear view mirror they will struggle.
They have such an advantage in seats it might be enough even so. And 14 years in power minimum, as they'll drag out to full term if they look like losing, will have been plenty.
Yes, I'm on them at 1.8 for largest party next GE. I'd be delighted to lose that but I'm not expecting to.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
No, Brown's deficit had nothing to do with the UK's level of exposure to the GFC. We borrowed the money to keep the economy going throughout at very low interest rates.
What mattered was his astonishingly incomptent approach to financial regulation.
I think you misunderstood my point. What I was saying is that Brown's deficit going into the recession being very high meant that coming out of it we were ruined.
Had the deficit been under control going into the recession then when we came out of it we'd have had a deficit but not too bad a one.
How were we ruined? We have continued to be able to finance our deficits and debt ever since.
Only because we had a decade of "austerity". That was only needed because of Brown's disgraceful deficit. Won't be needed going forwards because we went into this recession in better shape and the deficit will be closed without austerity.
Claiming the mantle of honesty and responsibility whilst ducking all the serious choices over how to balance the books is neither honest nor responsible.
Were you not listening?
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
That’s precisely my point. This is a speech about serious disease offering very weak medicine.
How is that weak?
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
Give it a rest. Even if you are right that fiscal policy should have been tighter in 2006/7, it made no difference to the global financial crisis. Whatever the implications for a future that did not happen, it had no effect on the crisis that did happen.
It didn't make a difference to the GFC, it made a difference to how the UK came out of the GFC. That's the difference, can't you understand that?
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
Osborne flat-lining the recovery he inherited from Labour did not help.
That did not happen. The UK grew faster 2010-2019 than the Eurozone or any other major European economy.
As did the UK's population...
GDP per capita grew faster in the UK than the Eurozone so try again.
Comments
Corbyn really did win the argument in the 2019 election.
Complicated though, devil will be in the details no doubt. If done right that's a great move.
He's forecast the deficit back under 3% before the next election.
I would have thought such a forecast was "brave". If the deficit is back under 3% before the next election then that is extraordinarily rapid so soon after the recession.
There are many snide mentions of Salmond. He will want further revenge
He's clearly been nobbled by a bunch of vocal interest groups.
It's in what he says as well as his accent.
"Not just a general desire, but a real commitment." (A specific desire? Not actions?)
The deficit back under 3% within 3 years of the depression isn't weak its a comprehensive cure for the deficit. It wasn't possible 3 years after the GFC to get the deficit back under 3% again.
Which as I have said for the past year is made possible in no small part because we went into this recession in a much better place than Brown's recession.
The political and economic cycles are going to be horribly out of synch for the next election.
Classic government is front-load the pain in years 1 and 2, so that you get the gains (and some bonus sweeties if you've eaten all your cabbage) in Year 4. The Nike swoosh theory of Brexit just about fitted in that- for believers anyway.
Covid has prevented that, rightly so. But that means that the pain kicks in just when the government would normally be thinking about going to the country.
Ouch.
Then it stops precisely when CT rate goes to 25%.
So no relief at 25%!
Hopefully Corp Tax can be reduced again or the rise cancelled in the future. Its the only part of the Budget I find atrocious.
Just announced 8 English Freeports....
And definition of what qualifies?
https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1367103042143846400?s=20
Shocks happen they're a fact of life. Its how you go into them and how you come out of them that matters. The UK was horribly exposed to the GFC with Brown's deficit - and as a result came atrociously out of it.
Covid was a more severe, more awful shock, but the UK was better prepared for it so is coming out better.
If we don't attempt any form of redistribution to support the relatively weak then more and more people are just going to become poor, until we either have to get rid of democracy or accept the election of a Corbyn figure.
Real alternative vision or dead man walking stuff?
(Don't like CT and don't like the mortgage guarantee)
I remember on here PBers said the 2012 budget would cost the Tories the 2015 election
What mattered was his astonishingly incomptent approach to financial regulation.
Everything else is too damaging politically.
spoilsport
Had the deficit been under control going into the recession then when we came out of it we'd have had a deficit but not too bad a one.
ie Invest 100, True cost is 75.3.
nothing so far
Eastern Europe is having a bad 3rd wave
You sound like those lefties who hark on about Thatcher, decades after she left office.
Excluding CT it seems like a good Budget, but the CT rise is a terrible idea.
Was worried there'd be more bad news than just CT so grateful that's the only bad thing. Glad there were no other tax rises.
But as a completely unimportant observation Sunak is by far the most articulate Chancellor we have had in a very long time. He is able to produce a speech that is genuinely inspiring and wipes the floor with the leaders of any of the other parties either now or in the recent past.
Doesn't mean I would vote for him but it is worth giving commendation where it is due.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-03-02/debates/62AC3E67-7B7A-4B94-898A-8D18B55A7A1C/YemenAidFunding
Need to see Budget book!
Suggesting what the budget was missing but not neccesarily offering any solutions.