There is reason to judge today’s budget as the most significant in the last 30 years. As yet no comment here. Why?
Disclaimer: I no longer live in the UK so I am no longer affected
Am I the only one that finds the prebudget leaks, and the post-budget analysis, yawn inducing. They promise an extra x billions here minus x billions there. Never changed my life in the slightest, I was always too busy getting on with job.
Where do you live now then Lincs?
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Me too d00d, same old same old…I shan’t lose any sleep over it…
I don’t even know what happened…
Don’t smoke, starting brewing me own booze, mortgage free, nowt to see here 
I watched it all and took it all in.
Not much to cause me concern, personally.
I have thought for some years that the Government should have been raising taxes and spending more on public services, so that was not unwelcome or a surprise to me.
The main income raising seems to be falling on employers (in increased NI contributions) apart from really small businesses,
The proof of the pudding is yet to be tasted, so I’ll wait and see.
Are you one of the “high net worth” individuals who left the UK in anticipation of budget tax raids?
I’m astonished they went ahead with this madcap approach, particularly considering Rachel has a masters in Economics from LSE.
The IHT change will prevent family farms passing down the generations. Very short-termist.
No, I’m not. Left a decade ago with much, much less than it takes to qualify as HNW. There is no way Coutts would give me a bank account.
And all these claims that the rich will leave the UK are massively overstated.
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They haven’t really gone after the rich the way that was expected.
I’d agree. The budget will squeeze businesses through higher minimum NI contributions and higher minimum wages. This risks higher prices and / or lower staff levels (maybe even higher unemployment). This will impact small or medium size businesses most - and these business owners are not always that rich.
No wealth tax. No tax on wealth gained in the UK should rich people leave. Only a small hike in capital gains tax - so if that’s your source of money then you are taxed much less than the 40% rate for income tax.
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The budget will impact ordinary working people. My first thought is that a) we will have poorer service overall as some organisations just leave that extra post empty. b) larger organisations will place more emphasis on developing automation, AI etc.
Overall this leaves ordinary working people far worse off.
They are investing more billions into the NHS for what? I haven’t seen a plan of how & when that funding will flow but they are doing their “national conversation” to ask people what needs fixing in the NHS. So there is funding but no plan. The conversation will apparently give them a 10 year plan, so nothing for the near future with a service that is falling apart from years of Tory tinkering and restructure after restructure. Much of the emphasis is on yet more digital impersonal “care”, yet more moves to community care (Labour failed with this in the past). Prevention? Local authorities were handed much prevention funding from the NHS back in Lansley’s disastrous changes in 2013. Where has that money gone? If it is being given to the NHS they would need a mandate for that role. At the moment much is in the hands of local authorities.
There’s nothing in the budget on how to sort out the mess of social care, which they should urgently hand over from the councils with 100% to the NHS instead of the social/nursing care split. Considering the scale of the problems, increasing carers allowance is a pathetic gesture. Most carers can’t claim it. They should exclude certain professions such as caring from the National insurance hike. Have they done this?
The Government have allowed themselves a free for all on increasing national debt, but no clear plan on how that will fund growth. The NI hike will end up in our high street prices.
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Mrs Fox visited ‘Superdrug’ in the town centre yesterday, it’s a very large store and there were only two staff on the shop floor. Mrs Fox used to be a store detective and as old habits die hard she watched two young girls help themselves to many items off the shelves and left the store. She alerted one of the two young staff members who promptly called for the manager and he came out from the office and gave chase.
During a conversation with one of the assistants she was told that they were desperately short of staff, some had actually been laid off previously, and those that turned up for the job soon left.
With higher minimum wage and having to work longer hours to cover for shortages of staff I fear this will be a recurring problem. What university graduate with a diploma in this, and a doctorate in that, will lower themselves to work like that?
We will see more high street closures and more of a move to online retailing. The lifting of the cap on regional bus fares will isolate many further. People are being forced online whether they like it or not.
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I understand the cap on bus fares was made higher no longer £2 a bus trip but know £3 a trip , that means the worker who goes on bus to work will now pay an extra £2 a day , those shop workers on minimum wage will be by far the worse off .
In fact anyone that goes by bus will be worse of ,
Thankfully we the ones with senior bus passes were let off and can continue for now to go free , which will help those that can not afford the loss of fuel allowance , to keep warm on a bus …
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I don’t know if your busses are anything like those round here Eliza, but apparently they have to have some of the windows open to deter covid and flu…I think they are determined to polish off some of us more mature folk…
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I don’t mind windows being open what puts me off is how dirty the buses are - all the seats are stained with heaven knows what!
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yet again woolley thinking by a party in power. Can’t or don’t they realise that the budget is going to affect everyone. If businesses have to pay staff more and higher staff National insurance e, who is going to cover the cost. The consumer of course, prices will rise or companies will collapse or go abroad. the small family owned businesses will not survive.
For god sake let a person who has or does own a business run the country, none of the Labour party front bench has, so don’t have a clue
They still havn’t learnt from last time borrowing puts the country in more debt. If you or I borowed and can’t pay back prison is the next step.
there is a simple answer, do away with all overseas aid and reduce VAT to 15% so people have more money to spend and consequently more going into the national kitty. Goods will come down in price not going up so people can afford those “extras”
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The only good thing to come of this is the renewed enthusiastic discussion about joining the single market.
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Surely this is inevitable? High streets (meaning the councils that mostly own the high streets and adjacent properties) need to plan to adapt. Which probably means mixed residential / commercial use. And micro-business start ups. That is the encouragement needed.
Rural is different and I think much more serious problems. Remote working should have helped rural communities - but has it?
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I don’t think it’s inevitable at all. It’s sheer stupidity. Just creates more and more traffic in deliveries instead of one lorry delivering stock to a local shop. the government should be investing in local public transport and local shopping facilities. Instead local councils are approving coin slot gambling and takeaways.
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