2025 Spring Statement

[macron]

So it's not a budget, definitely not, and with everything going swimmingly, what will we be treated to?

A so far uncosted £5bn of welfare cuts, see 15.29 here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0jqjl9vg47t

The potential for a continued freeze of income tax thresholds beyond 2028, which she wimped out of 6 months ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79npj3eqdlo

What other treats do we have in store now we all appear to have council tax rises https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Utility bills are up again, we know national insurance is up for employers and stamp duty reductions are due to end.

https://news.sky.com/story/stamp-duty-rules-are-ch...

Is there any sign of a reprieve from this absolute onslaught? Any rabbits from hats? Or do we all just work to pay the train drivers now?

[Earthdweller]

My understanding , though happy to be corrected, is that if it's not a budget then they can't put taxes up, only fiddle while Rome burns as it were

[cheesejunkie]

Earthdweller said:

My understanding , though happy to be corrected, is that if it's not a budget then they can't put taxes up, only fiddle while Rome burns as it were

They can do what they want. But following protocol would imply certain restrictions. They're not mandatory conditions but if they're broken the media would go mad.

[Jasandjules]

macron said:

Is there any sign of a reprieve from this absolute onslaught? Any rabbits from hats? Or do we all just work to pay the train drivers now?

Nope. This is a Labour Govt. They think they should have all our money and spend it how they like..

[rdjohn]

Somehow, she has to fund Trump’s peace dividend.

Replacing Civil Servants with AI trying to recover the pre-pandemic 8% loss of productivity.

Keep NHS staff sweet while doing nothing to recover the pre-pandemic 19% loss of productivity

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-public-sector-...

[P-Jay]

"I'm afraid there is no money" has never been so accurate. No rabbits, no hats.

This parliament started with national debt at around 100% of GDP, the highest tax burden in 70 years (aside from voting winning bribe of a cut late in the last one), a war in Europe & QE causing huge inflation, a failing public sector and crumbling infrastructure.

There isn't a simple solution that will allow a .25% base rate, 15% VAT, a Bobby on every street corner and a hospital bed each, certainly not with the real possibility of WW3

[macron]

No "tax and spend", Reeves says. Wonder what will be drip fed out in tomorrow's papers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78eg7dp9ypo

[macron]

OK so the worst kept secret is a cost redux across Whitehall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5nzy403l0o

[Rufus Stone]

macron said:

OK so the worst kept secret is a cost redux across Whitehall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5nzy403l0o

An excellent idea. But as I doubt the civil servants will work any harder it will likely lead to a reduction with the quality of services. I've noticed HMRC going even further downhill recently.

[macron]

Still a mere billion quid short apparently.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/crmj0zxk7wyt

not going well this one, is it?

[Rufus Stone]

macron said:

Still a mere billion quid short apparently.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/crmj0zxk7wyt

not going well this one, is it?

One billion is a rounding error when talking about government finances.

[Gecko1978]

Rufus Stone said:

macron said:

Still a mere billion quid short apparently.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/crmj0zxk7wyt

not going well this one, is it?

One billion is a rounding error when talking about government finances.

Well no it's £1,000,000,000 which would pay an awful lot of salaries for teachers etc

[Rufus Stone]

Gecko1978 said:

Well no it's £1,000,000,000 which would pay an awful lot of salaries for teachers etc

But the total Government revenue is over one trillion pa - 1,000 billion.

[Dicky Knee]

Gecko1978 said:

Well no it's £1,000,000,000 which would pay an awful lot of salaries for teachers etc

Or 2 days of the NHS

[Gecko1978]

Dicky Knee said:

Gecko1978 said:

Well no it's £1,000,000,000 which would pay an awful lot of salaries for teachers etc

Or 2 days of the NHS

I suppose in Rufus world an NHS than ran 363 days a year is fine just a rounding error right...unless you need to use it those 2 days

[Carl_VivaEspana]

it's all very small beer and mystic meg predictions at the minute.

[Convert]

Carl_VivaEspana said:

it's all very small beer and mystic meg predictions at the minute.

Or in other words a load of bks.

[Carl_VivaEspana]

load of waffle and can kicking so far.

[essayer]

Carl_VivaEspana said:

load of waffle and can kicking so far.

'blame the Tories'

[Jinx]

Where is the £500 better off for working families the OBR calculated coming from? No changes the chancellor has made will put more money in peoples pockets (government doesn't pay the "living wage" - private companies do and they get it from their customers ergo every working person). Wages may be rising higher than inflation but mainly just public sector ones - with the increase in national insurance to non-protected jobs that will be funded by less jobs and lower wage increases.