Budget Day - 27/10/21

[Suspect Device]

Used to be an occasion but it seems that most of the announcements have already been made.

No doubt he'll have some headline grabber left in his case to enhance his image further his career ambitions though.

As for the important stuff.

How much on booze, fags and petrol?

 

And for just me - I hope to f**k he doesn't change the age limit for taking your pension from 55 to 57 like it's been rumoured. At least not until after 2023.

[101]

It would be class if they go straight to a vote with no preamble from Rishi, they may as well tbf it's all be briefed to the press.

[Salt n Vinegar]

At the end of the day I'll judge the budget on one key issue. Once all the bribes and giveaways are in, who will end up paying for them - the less well off, or the better off? 

(Hint... It's unlikely to be the latter.) 

 

[D Angelo Barksdale]

A big day for client journalism tbf.

[coprolite]

Less fiscal policy, more populist bribes and backhanders for mates. 

[Dawson Park Boy]

45 minutes ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

At the end of the day I'll judge the budget on one key issue. Once all the bribes and giveaways are in, who will end up paying for them - the less well off, or the better off? 

(Hint... It's unlikely to be the latter.) 

 

What’s your definition of ‘less well off’ and ‘better off’.

Without that, how can you judge?

[Salt n Vinegar]

Just now, Dawson Park Boy said:

What’s your definition of ‘less well off’ and ‘better off’.

Without that, how can you judge?

Really?  Sheesh. Somebody hasn't been paying attention. 

Ok, a couple of pointers might help. 

Help for those closest to not having two pennies to rub together once all normal household bills are met (if they can be afforded at all). 

How much will someone's standard of living be affected by the budget - not at all, some, or a lot? (I doubt that Jacob Rees-Mogg will be quaking in his boots). 

What is the Chancellor doing about pressure on families energy costs?  Our energy monthly costs have gone up by over £100 a month. We can cope with that, but not everybody can.  

Pay freeze to be done away with... fine... in theory, but will rises be funded by increases in allocations, or will they be funded "from within existing budgets" = fewer staff and/or poorer conditions? 

The leaks - sorry, informal and unattributed press briefings - have all been of the "aren't we great" variety, so there will be cheering, waving of order papers and the bellowing "heee-ah, hee-ah" from the Tories. 

The devil will be in the detail.  I doubt the average family will be cheering in the streets.

I'll be delighted to be proved wrong. 

 

[tamthebam]

To correct some news reports Rishi didn't impose a pay freeze on the Civil Service last year:

There has been a pay freeze for ordinary civil servants (the lower grades, not the Sir Humphreys) since Gordon Brown imposed 1% "to combat inflation" just before the economy tanked. 

Darling and then Osborne kept the pay freeze as "we're all in it together". 

It's effectively been a pay cut for over a decade.

Things are slightly different in Scotland- that duplicitous SNP Government gave a 2% increase obviously to buy votes for shame, tut tut etc ad nauseum

The effect was with some tribunals now devolved and others still under Westminster you can have two people at the same grade, in the same building on different pay rates.

 

[williemillersmoustache]

Most concerning thing is this "balance the books" shite.  Economically illiterate, ideological, re-branded austerity, fucking nonsense.  All part of the ongoing tory mission to make people believe the treasury operates in the same way as yer maws purse.

Today will be a masterclass in marketing over substance with the BBC dutifully playing its part in the show.

*I see the Beeb have taken down the "balance the books" tweet after a huge pile on telling them to gtf. 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by williemillersmoustache

[tamthebam]

4 minutes ago, williemillersmoustache said:

Most concerning thing is this "balance the books" shite.  Economically illiterate, ideological, re-branded austerity, fucking nonsense.  All part of the ongoing tory mission to make people believe the treasury operates in the same way as yer maws purse.

Today will be a masterclass in marketing over substance with the BBC dutifully playing its part in the show.

*I see the Beeb have taken down the "balance the books" tweet after a huge pile on telling them to gtf. 

 

 

 

 

Funny how the UK hasn't gone bankrupt but in an independent Scotland we'd seemingly all be living in caves and eating grass...

And there's always money found to fight a war or buy some nice nuclear missiles or aircraft carriers with no aircraft with nobody moaning about "balancing the books" then.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

Starmer and Rayner aren't there, so there will be even less opposition from Labour than usual.

[williemillersmoustache]

7 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Starmer and Rayner aren't there, so there will be even less opposition from Labour than usual.

Miliband doing a much better job tbf. 

[Dawson Park Boy]

33 minutes ago, tamthebam said:

To correct some news reports Rishi didn't impose a pay freeze on the Civil Service last year:

There has been a pay freeze for ordinary civil servants (the lower grades, not the Sir Humphreys) since Gordon Brown imposed 1% "to combat inflation" just before the economy tanked. 

Darling and then Osborne kept the pay freeze as "we're all in it together". 

It's effectively been a pay cut for over a decade.

Things are slightly different in Scotland- that duplicitous SNP Government gave a 2% increase obviously to buy votes for shame, tut tut etc ad nauseum

The effect was with some tribunals now devolved and others still under Westminster you can have two people at the same grade, in the same building on different pay rates.

 

Can you explain the phrase ‘pay freeze’.

Does that mean if you get £30k in year 1, then you get £30k in year2?

Having never worked in public services I can’t quite fathom out how things work.

Or, is there a mechanism that your pay automatically increases even with a pay freeze?

[ICTJohnboy]

13 minutes ago, williemillersmoustache said:

Miliband doing a much better job tbf. 

 

Agreed.

As he has done in the past.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by ICTJohnboy

[Arch Stanton]

3p off a pint, whoo.

[Arch Stanton]

1 hour ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Can you explain the phrase ‘pay freeze’.

Does that mean if you get £30k in year 1, then you get £30k in year2?

Having never worked in public services I can’t quite fathom out how things work.

Or, is there a mechanism that your pay automatically increases even with a pay freeze?

If your job has an incremental pay scale then the answer is yes.

[101]

Them all getting sheets of paper out at the end and passing then about is a complete minter. I look forward to Boris appointing a Cappo General to rally the troops.

[ICTJohnboy]

Good response so far, from Rachel Reeve.

[resk]

3 hours ago, Suspect Device said:

 

 

And for just me - I hope to f**k he doesn't change the age limit for taking your pension from 55 to 57 like it's been rumoured. At least not until after 2023.

You should be okay - the move to 57 is from 2028.  Legislation confirming that should be passed in the next year but the draft bill is already published so I reckon that's a safe bet.  

[101]

Also feel for lumo who were trying to compete with the domestic air travel will now face an even harder sell on the ticket price. Cutting air passenger duty across the board like that is just weird when you're going into COP, would have made more sense to "level up" the islands and cut duty from Island airports into Great Britain.