"Ask any economist or policy wonk and they'll tell you the buildup to this year's budget has been among the most drawn-out and chaotic they can remember. Treasury insiders are adamant they have maintained the same Labour values throughout and that Reeves first scribbled down her top three priorities the NHS, the cost of living and the public debt as long ago as July."
"It is not meant to be like this: aside from the agenda-setting first budget that follows a general election victory, and outside economic crises, (though goodness knows we have had plenty) budgets should be reassuringly dull. Chancellors whose principles are clearly understood by the public and the markets, ideally keep a steady hand on the tiller of tax and spend policy."
"A memorable budget tends to be a bad budget: Gordon Brown's too-clever-by-half abolition of the 10p starting rate of income tax in 2008; George Osborne's omnishambles in 2012; Anthony Barber's dash for growth in 1971, subsequently blamed for uncorking an unsustainable boom. Reeves had not intended to be an exciting chancellor. Indeed, she and Keir Starmer hoped that by being the cautious and sensible successors to the five-leaders-in a-decade Tories, they would reap economic benefits."
Rachel Reeves is due to deliver a tax-and-spend statement focused on the NHS, the cost of living and the public debt. Treasury officials say those priorities were set as early as July. Volatile bond markets, stringent pass-or-fail fiscal rules and Reeves's choice to leave under £10bn of headroom have produced months of uncertainty and indecision. Budgets are normally intended to be dull outside elections and crises, with chancellors maintaining steady, predictable tax and spending plans. Historically memorable budgets have been associated with policy mistakes and economic instability. Reeves and party leadership aimed for cautious stewardship to restore investor confidence and stability, which has so far not materialised.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]