Budget 2024 - live: Hunt and Starmer ‘in conspiracy of silence’ as Britain faces hardest five years since WWII
‘We could be in for a rude awakening’ after election, says head of top economic think tank
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Both the Conservatives and Labour are engaged in a “conspiracy of silence” about what will happen to the public finances after the election, the head of a leading economic think tank has said.
Responding to the spring Budget, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said both parties were not being straight about the “scale” of the trade-offs they will face after voters go to the polls.
“They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
Mr Johnson also warned that the UK was facing its most difficult period financially since the Second World War.
“The combination of high debt interest payments and low forecast nominal growth means that the next parliament could well prove to be the most difficult of any in 80 years for a chancellor wanting to bring debt down,” he said.
Five Budgets that left their mark on history – for good and bad
Some chancellors made a mark on politics, perhaps in ways they never intended, as Sean O’Grady explains.
Read Sean’s piece in full here:
Five Budgets that left their mark on history – for good and bad
Some chancellors made a mark on politics, perhaps in ways they never intended, as Sean O’Grady explains
Vapes hit with new tax in Budget as part of Jeremy Hunt’s crackdown on smoking
Jeremy Hunt has announced a new tax on vapes as the government moved to crack down on smoking in the spring Budget.
The chancellor introduced a levy on the smoking alternatives in a bid to make them unaffordable for children. He said the move would take effect from October 2026.
It comes after the government in November last year made plans for a “smoke-free” generation by banning tobacco products for children turning 14 or younger.
Matt Mathers reports:
Vapes hit with new tax in Budget as part of Jeremy Hunt’s crackdown on smoking
Move comes after government in November last year made plans for a ‘smoke-free’ generation
Watch: Jeremy Hunt says ‘great budgets can change history’ in new video
Jeremy Hunt’s 2p Budget tax cut is not ‘silver bullet’ to rescue party, George Osborne warns
Jeremy Hunt announced a pre-election giveaway Budget in which he cut taxes for millions but almost immediately faced warnings from senior Tories that he had failed to deliver a “silver bullet” to save his party.
The chancellor slashed 2p from national insurance – and signalled his desire to abolish it altogether – in a bid to woo disgruntled voters. Combined with a similar cut at the end of last year, Mr Hunt said a person on an average salary of £35,000 would be £900 a year better off.
But in a withering assessment, the highly respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said for every £1 handed back to voters by the chancellor, the decision to freeze tax thresholds would claim £1.30.
Politics and Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin, Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell and Political Correspondent Zoe Grunewald report:
Hunt’s 2p Budget tax cut is not ‘silver bullet’ to rescue party, Osborne warns
Pre-election giveaways including child benefit and fuel duty freeze not enough, senior Tories say
Watch: Key takeaways from Jeremy Hunt’s 2024 spring Budget
Budget leaves big picture largely unchanged, say experts
A “smoke and mirrors” Budget has left the overall economic picture largely unchanged and a “sour” prospect for whoever wins the next election, two leading economic think tanks have said.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Resolution Foundation both said Wednesday’s Budget meant taxes were still going up and living standards still falling since 2019 despite the announcement of another 2p cut in national insurance.
Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, said “smoke and mirrors” were to be expected, and the “big picture on tax remains much the same”, with tax revenues being 3.9% of national income higher than they were in 2019.
Christopher McKeon reports:
Budget leaves big picture largely unchanged, say experts
Experts from the IFS and Resolution Foundation said taxes were still going up and living standards were falling despite Wednesday’s Budget.
Budget ‘won’t make a dent’ in financial challenges, Stormont minister says
The Budget “won’t make a dent” in Northern Ireland’s financial challenges, Stormont’s Finance Minister has said.
The Budget will provide an extra £100 million for public spending in Northern Ireland in 2024-25, the Government has said.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also announced regeneration funds of £20 million each for Londonderry and Coleraine over 10 years.
Jonathan McCambridge reports:
Budget ‘won’t make a dent’ in financial challenges, Stormont minister says
The Budget will provide an extra £100 million for public spending in Northern Ireland in 2024-25, the Government said.
Five Budgets that made their mark on history – for good and bad
It remains to be seen if Jeremy Hunt’s last spring Budget before the election makes much impact on his party’s chances of winning a fifth term. In truth, Budgets tend to be ephemeral things with measures reversed by successive administrations – or even by the same chancellor. However, a few Budgets did make their mark in history, for good and bad reasons…
Read the full story here...
Five Budgets that made their mark on history – for good and bad
Some chancellors made a mark on politics, perhaps in ways they never intended, as Sean O’Grady explains
Council tax rises expected to cancel out Budget national insurance cut
Expected rises in council tax will wipe out any benefit felt by households from the cut to national insurance announced in the Budget, figures suggest.
A forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) shows council tax receipts in England are expected to rise from £38.7 billion in 2023-24 to £50.4 billion in 2028/29, an increase of £11.7 billion.
This compares with receipts totalling £10.7 billion which the OBR expects to be generated over the same period by the 2% cut to national insurance announced by Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday.
Jonathan Bunn reports:
Council tax rises expected to cancel out Budget national insurance cut
The Office for Budget Responsibility said council tax receipts are expected to outgrow the cost of the Chancellor’s centrepiece tax cut.
Christopher Nolan among filmmakers hailing tax relief for independent UK movies
British filmmakers Christopher Nolan, Richard Curtis and Emerald Fennell have welcomed a tax relief for UK independent movies which has been hailed as “game changing” for new talent.
During the final Budget before the general election, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the Government will provide eligible film studios in England with 40% relief on gross business rates until 2034.
He said the tax credit will be focused on UK independent films with a budget of less than £15 million.
Naomi Clarke reports:
Christopher Nolan among filmmakers hailing tax relief for independent UK movies
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the Government will provide eligible film studios in England with 40% relief on their gross business rates until 2034
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