Burnham

[briantrumpet]

Well, being in a Band C property, I guess I'll get £100 that I don't deserve.

Maybe I'll use it to turn up my heating, like some people were going to do with Liz Truss's proposed tax cut.

 

[secretsqirrel]

Well that was a very boring budget.
Total none event. Just kicking the can down the road on any difficult decisions.
But anyone in a house band A-D will get £100 off your heating bill. Seems like a very blunt tool as there will be plenty of people in higher rated houses who need the money more than someone comfortably off in a band D house.

I think some businesses wanted stability, and predictability. So boring is probably OK.

I think it indicates no early GE, because they’ll want keep some treats for later.

 

[icowden]

I think it indicates no early GE, because they’ll want keep some treats for later.

Who are these delusional people that think there has ever been, at any time, the prospect of an early General Election? Why? What would be the point?

 

[Pblakeney]

Who are these delusional people that think there has ever been, at any time, the prospect of an early General Election? Why? What would be the point?

I also find the notion of "treats" fanciful.
If the nation can be bought along the lines of £100 then I despair.

 

[briantrumpet]

I also find the notion of "treats" fanciful.
If the nation can be bought along the lines of £100 then I despair.

I demand $5000

 

[Pross]

I also find the notion of "treats" fanciful.
If the nation can be bought along the lines of £100 then I despair.

Especially as whenever you see interviews with ‘the public’ about something going up by £100 a year it’s a disaster that will mean they have to choose between eating and heating whereas when anything goes down by the same amount it’s a trifling amount that won’t make the slightest difference.

 

[Pross]

Well that was a very boring budget.
Total none event. Just kicking the can down the road on any difficult decisions.
But anyone in a house band A-D will get £100 off your heating bill. Seems like a very blunt tool as there will be plenty of people in higher rated houses who need the money more than someone comfortably off in a band D house.

It’s the problem with trying to help people with items like heating costs. It seems to be hard to link it to benefits / low pay etc. and ends up being cheaper to make it more generic. After the Ukraine invasion they gave money everyone which significantly added to our national debt from memory.

 

[briantrumpet]

It’s the problem with trying to help people with items like heating costs. It seems to be hard to link it to benefits / low pay etc. and ends up being cheaper to make it more generic. After the Ukraine invasion they gave money everyone which significantly added to our national debt from memory.

I think this one is paid for by a one-off tax on energy company profits, isn't it (or is it banks?)? That's not going to be unpopular amongst the general population, and is in itself ammunition against the unfunded tax cuts of the Tories (e.g. Truss, Hunt's NI reduction, Badenoch's proposed tax cuts for higher earners).

 

[Beebo]

Who are these delusional people that think there has ever been, at any time, the prospect of an early General Election? Why? What would be the point?

I doubt he will call an early GE.
But the thinking is that he could secure another 5 years, he would lose a few seats along the way but it would be worth it as he has a new mandate and isn’t shackled by the old manifesto promises.
Plus this might be his high water mark. In 3 years he might not be ahead in the polls.

 

[secretsqirrel]

I also find the notion of "treats" fanciful.
If the nation can be bought along the lines of £100 then I despair.

‘Treats’ is just my turn of phrase, referring to sweeteners as a device used by chancellors typically before calling a general election.

 

[secretsqirrel]

Who are these delusional people that think there has ever been, at any time, the prospect of an early General Election? Why? What would be the point?

The delusional people are Badenoch and Reform. An early GE makes no sense whatsoever and Labour know that.

 

[Pblakeney]

‘Treats’ is just my turn of phrase, referring to sweeteners as a device used by chancellors typically before calling a general election.

The trouble is that the country is bankrupt and that position is not going to improve any time soon.
Any "sweeteners" will simply be kicking the can down the road, and obviously so. So obvious that it would be a stick against them in an election.

https://debtclock.io/united-kingdom

 

[secretsqirrel]

The trouble is that the country is bankrupt and that position is not going to improve any time soon.
Any "sweeteners" will simply be kicking the can down the road, and obviously so. So obvious that it would be a stick against them in an election.

https://debtclock.io/united-kingdom

No point in picking a fight with me. I agree with you.

 

[Ian H]

The trouble is that the country is bankrupt and that position is not going to improve any time soon.
Any "sweeteners" will simply be kicking the can down the road, and obviously so. So obvious that it would be a stick against them in an election.

https://debtclock.io/united-kingdom

The country isn't bankrupt.
https://www.worldeconomics.com/Rankings/Debt.aspx

 

[Psamathe]

But anyone in a house band A-D will get £100 off your heating bill.

I think the Government's understanding of their "giving people a bit of a breathing space" is very different from my understanding. Some are drowning under energy bills and when somebody is drowning, lifting them 1m towards the surface whilst pushing them 3 meters deeper is not giving them "breathing space". The £100 is far more than gone by the next energy price increase so "breathing space?".

I must have missed the windfall tax on the energy companies but did catch that day after the budget shell announced record quarterly profits (since 2022).

Interesting later today as my Financial Adviser has sent me a message wanting a chat later today.