March Budget 2016

Is it normal for the Leader of the Opposition to do the response for the budget? I would have thought it'd be the Shadow Chancellor delivering it - seem to recall Ed Balls doing them in the last parliament.
 
Mr Jack said:
Interesting commentary from the BBC:

George Osborne set himself three fiscal rules - to cap welfare spending, to bring down debt as a proportion of national income and to produce a surplus by the end of the Parliament. The welfare cap was breached when the government was forced into a U-turn on cuts to tax credits last year.

Today, the rule on reducing debt has also been broken. With the UK economy slowing, public sector net debt as a proportion of gross domestic product will rise this year, the Office for Budget Responsibility says.

That leaves the chancellor with one rule still extant - a budget surplus by 2020.​

Osborne's record of failing to hit his own rules and targets is beginning to be noticed. Does anyone seriously think that he's going to balance the books by 2020? He's missed every deficit reduction target he set himself. He's even missing a debt reduction target he set less than a year ago.
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It does seem that you have to try and find something so moan about after what I saw a fairly good budget. To be honest if things are bumbling along nicely by 2020 I couldn't give a toss if he misses that by a few billion.

No doubt if he does miss that target it'll be jumped on as some doom and gloom but meanwhile it wont affect the man on the street either way.
 
Von Smallhausen said:
Jeremy Corbyn's counter strike was as weak as water. You could almost see the targets being painted on his back by swathes who want him gone. It's a shame in a way as the UK desperately needs a credible opposition and a leader and party to take back seats north of the border and highlight Ms Krankie for the one trick pony she is but it isn't happening under Corbyn.

Another five year term for the Tories is just about nailed on.
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I think it'd be very hard to pick holes in what he said tbh. It was a very strong argument from Corbyn, maybe his delivery faltered a bit towards the end but the actual content was sound. Really shows that the calibre of advisors he's been using makes a difference. Hopefully they can keep this up and finally get people to start to question the impression the tories like to give that they're somehow "economically competent", when all the evidence suggests otherwise.
 
scorza said:
Is it normal for the Leader of the Opposition to do the response for the budget? I would have thought it'd be the Shadow Chancellor delivering it - seem to recall Ed Balls doing them in the last parliament.
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I think its the shadow chancellors job (whatever his name is) to comeback - but after the joke of one in the Autumn maybe Corbyn doesn't trust him to do that.
 
Von Smallhausen said:
Jeremy Corbyn's counter strike was as weak as water. You could almost see the targets being painted on his back by swathes who want him gone. It's a shame in a way as the UK desperately needs a credible opposition and a leader and party to take back seats north of the border and highlight Ms Krankie for the one trick pony she is but it isn't happening under Corbyn.

Another five year term for the Tories is just about nailed on.
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Corbyn's performance has generally been pretty well received. And polls suggest Labour has been making inroads into the Tory lead recently. The latest had them neck and neck, in fact.

All is not lost as far as the next election goes.
 
cheesyboy said:
Corbyn's performance has generally been pretty well received. And polls suggest Labour has been making inroads into the Tory lead recently. The latest had them neck and neck, in fact.

All is not lost as far as the next election goes.
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Good luck with those polls - hes a love or hate guy and cant see many people moving between those polar opposites.
 
scorza said:
Is it normal for the Leader of the Opposition to do the response for the budget? I would have thought it'd be the Shadow Chancellor delivering it - seem to recall Ed Balls doing them in the last parliament.
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Yes, it's traditional for the Leader of the Opposition to do the response.
 
cheesyboy said:
Corbyn's performance has generally been pretty well received. And polls suggest Labour has been making inroads into the Tory lead recently. The latest had them neck and neck, in fact.

All is not lost as far as the next election goes.
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That's encouraging to see but I think Corbyn and the Labour party as a whole have a certain amount of reinventing to do in order to be a possible next government.
 
jimjamuk said:
It does seem that you have to try and find something so moan about after what I saw a fairly good budget.
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What Osborne actually talked about was essentially fluff. The big stuff is the pre-announced tightening and whatever he's hidden in the details and that big stuff is a continuation of his failed austerity agenda and the on-going long term damage to the fabric of this country.

Even among the fluff there wasn't much to cheer: more giveaways which will mostly benefit the already well off; more abandoning of environmental taxation; a big giveaway to the companies extracting our oil, essentially privatising the profits they make from public resources; further cutting of corporation tax; and more schools being forced to convert to academies. The sugar tax is to be welcomed - although it's rather weak in its implementation since it only target soft drinks - as is the freeze in most alcohol duty and the revamp of commercial stamp duty to match his very sensible improvements to domestic stamp duty.
 
The BBC lifetime ISA guide is a little confusing...

As someone over 40 now, it suggests I could transfer my Help To Buy ISA money across to these new accounts opening in 2017, if I've not started a mortgage by then.
 
UTmaniac said:
The BBC lifetime ISA guide is a little confusing...

As someone over 40 now, it suggests I could transfer my Help To Buy ISA money across to these new accounts opening in 2017, if I've not started a mortgage by then.
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The Government website is unclear

Point 1.3 - From April 2017, people under the age of 40 will be able to open a Lifetime ISA and
contribute up to £4,000 in each tax yearhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508176/Lifetime_ISA_final.pdf

However:
During the 2017-18 tax year only, those who already have a Help to Buy: ISA will be able
to transfer these funds into a Lifetime ISA and receive the government bonus on those savings.
Any Help to Buy: ISA funds that were saved prior to the introduction of the Lifetime ISA on 6
April 2017 will not count towards the Lifetime ISA annual contribution limit
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Savers will be able to save into both a Help to Buy: ISA and a
Lifetime ISA, but will only be able to use the government bonus from one of their accounts to
buy their first home
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Looking at that document it does seem I am wrong on the investment growth for the bonus. The bonus is added at the end of the tax year and grows with the investment. I've edited my previous posts.
 
Aeleys said:
Can someone explain the get 1k free if you save 4k thing to a retard (me)
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My understanding is that you will only qualify for the 25% if...
You close the account to set up your first mortgage
You reach the age of 60
You reach (50?) and you have a qualifying life threatening illness

You need to under 40 when these lifetime ISAs start in spring 2017, unless as it seems, you have a Help To Buy ISA and want to transfer it over (which would be advantageous if you can save more than £2400 per year, as the new ISA has a £4000 per annum limit).
 
Spook187 said:
The 40% tax threshold should have been set at £60 000.
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Would rattler see it abolished.
Raise tax free allowance to ~25k and then flat tax off say 30-35% or what ever is needed, reduce legal loop holes, simplify everything.
At least tax free allowance is continuing to raise.

But an unimaginative budget overall, which does start to put in place what is needed to change our basic economics over then next 30years.
 
Sugar tax? Will be about as useful as that hot pasty tax. Nothing more than a cash cow, if they cared about your health they would have regulated the amount of sugar in them and not just shove a tax onto it.
 
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