[Politics] The official Budget thread - kick off 12.30pm

[Giraffe]

Why is he replying and not the shadow chancellor?

Because she is a loony?

 

[timbha]

Wonder if he is on steroids, his face is getting very chubby

In all seriousness he doesn’t look well

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think it is mostly aimed at retaining GP's and senior hospital doctors.

Yes, there will be more doctors and more capacity for NHS, BUT it will also mean already rich consultants performing more private work and bunging the extra earning straight in to their pension plans that grow in a tax-free environment.

Well done the GMC and BMA who have played a blinder in getting their senior members a very tidy tax break.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

In all seriousness he doesn’t look well

I was being serious. He doesn't look well. His face is very bloated.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Massive increase on childcare, for all children over 9 months. That's a big help to new parents who still have to work. This was previously only free for 3 year olds.

Have they said when this applies from and whether the existing exclusions (if a parent earns more than £100,000k they lose the additional 15 hours) still apply?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I'm no political expert, but isn't the current government telling us all the things they'll do when in power in 3 years time like me telling you all the things I'll do with my future wife, Margot Robbie

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Wonder if he is on steroids, his face is getting very chubby

Boozing

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

It will be interesting to see where these nurseries are going to source all this labour to look after these extra kids of 9 months + whose parents will now want to send them to nursery because of the offer of free childcare.

A nursery less than a mile away from me recently shut after a bad OFSTED report, resulting largely from lack of staff. A lot of mainly young women can't afford to work for minimum wage with kids full of colds, flu and Covid in the expensive Home Counties.

A change in staff / child ratios

 

[Giraffe]

Starmer with a very shouty response with the MPs sitting behind him looking very bored

A pretty poor response I thought. Not sure it's an area he is very strong on. Didn't really hit much.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

It's odd years ago the shadow chancellor would give a response with their own budget ideas countering the government's. These days they offer nothing.

 

[sparkie]

Nothing in the budget for me but at least there were no major negatives - so it gets a "phew".

 

[Giraffe]

Hunt 7/10
Starmer 4/10 mainly because it looked like his head was going to explode. Otherwise I'd have given him 2/10.

 

[highflyer]

I'm no political expert, but isn't the current government telling us all the things they'll do when in power in 3 years time like me telling you all the things I'll do with my future wife, Margot

Yup

Because she is a loony?

Crikey, if you think (centrist, pro-business) Reeves is a 'loony' wait until you find out about the Shadow Deputy Leader

 

[A1X]

Why is he replying and not the shadow chancellor?

LOTO always responds to "the budget". Shadow Chancellor responds to the "Autumn Statement" / "Spring Statement" / budget which isn't actually a budget so they give it a fancy name instead.

 

[Giraffe]

Yup


Crikey, if you think (centrist, pro-business) Reeves is a 'loony' wait until you find out about the Shadow Deputy Leader

Yep she is a total loony!

 

[A1X]

 

[Pavilionaire]

A pretty poor response I thought. Not sure it's an area he is very strong on. Didn't really hit much.

I would have preferred to hear from the Shadow Chancellor, as Sir Keir is a words man, not a numbers man.

He didn't mention the long-term freezing of the Personal Allowance or Higher Rate threshold, so huge increase in taxation by stealth. He also didn't mention how the corporation tax rise next month was a huge example that Tories DO raise taxes.

 

[Icy Gull]

Silicon Valley Bank must be playing in to this to some extent. Also think it is why Hunt is looking to give pensions a boost. A lot of investment and private equity was funded by SVB and need the pension money investment.

Credit Suisse now heading down the same road potentially, the FTSE is dropping like a stone again

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Hunt 7/10
Starmer 4/10 mainly because it looked like his head was going to explode. Otherwise I'd have given him 2/10.

I had to turn Starmer off, he sounded unstable. Something wrong there.

 

[CHAPPERS]

So the main takeaway is that Starmer is unwell/drunk/on steroids/red.