Budget: Rishi Sunak refuses to commit to tax cuts before next general election October 28, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak this morning refused to commit to cutting taxes before the next general election. Asked on Sky News whether he would slash taxes before the next Westminster polling day, which is expected to be held by 2024, Mr Sunak said: “We started cutting taxes yesterday, our priority being those on the lowest incomes. [...]
Forget the pandemic: Brexit’s impact on UK economy will be much worse, warns fiscal chief October 28, 2021 The consequences of the UK leaving the European Union will be much more serious than the economic impact of the pandemic, the boss of the UK’s fiscal watchdog warns this morning. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had assumed leaving the EU would “reduce our long run gross domestic product by around 4 per cent”, [...]
Budget: Brits face flat recovery for household living standards, Sunak warned October 28, 2021 The average household could see their tax rise by thousands of pounds during Boris Johnson’s premiership, a think tank has warned, as Rishi Sunak’s Budget has the country set for a flat recovery for living standards. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the Budget would leave the overall tax burden at its highest since [...]
Sunak might be teetotal – but he needs to sober up from his super-spending – CityAM : CityAM October 28, 2021 The definition of addiction is the serious, chronic dependence on a substance or activity. After watching the Chancellor spend almost an hour trumpeting eye-watering increases in public spending, we now have every reason to believe that this government is hooked on splashing taxpayers’ money. The next immediate hit – securing a headline about another couple [...]
The verdict: A budget packed to the rafters with promises and light on the means to pay for them October 28, 2021 Kitty Ussher, Institute of Directors The crucial test for this Budget was whether it gave business the confidence to invest. The Chancellor’s cuts for business rates and R&D tax credit are welcome. But, when paired with hefty hikes in other taxation on the horizon, that may not be enough to convince business leaders to press [...]
Britain will launch Cop26 in Glasgow while taxpayers are still funding fossil fuels – CityAM : CityAM October 28, 2021 On Monday, the parliamentary committee for International Development demanded the government stop investing in the fossil fuel sector, including through its private-sector arm, the CDC Group. CDC is investing hundreds of millions of precious aid money in fossil fuel companies that compound the climate crisis. Propping up the fossil fuel industry will inevitably mean more [...]
Editorial: Risky Rishi’s budget may not taste so sweet if events turn sour October 27, 2021 The poor Labour party. If the job of opposition is to oppose, how to oppose Rishi Sunak’s budget?The truth is that had Sunak’s speech been drafted for Gordon Brown, not many would have batted an eyelid. Spending was replaced with investment; tax cuts a promise, not a reality. There was much to like from a [...]
Sunak cuts the Universal Credit taper rate to ease cost of living pressures October 27, 2021 Rishi Sunak has today cut the Universal Credit taper rate in a move that will put £2bn back into the pockets of the country’s lowest paid workers. Sunak announced in his Budget today that the taper rate will be slashed in December from 63 per cent to 55 per cent in a move that is [...]
Budget 2021: Steel sector bemoans “missed opportunity” as energy costs continue to rise October 27, 2021 The Budget was a “missed opportunity” for the country’s steel sector, argues the UK Steel and Community Union. The organisation has criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak, believing he has left the steel sector “high and dry” by the lack of action on electricity prices and its failure to set out a clear plan for decarbonising UK steel production. [...]
The Budget: Sunak returns pupil funding to “2010 levels” October 27, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that per pupil funding would return to “2010 levels” in real terms by 2024-25, making an extra £4.7bn available. Sunak makes £2.6bn available for new school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities in England, more than tripling current capital funding levels to over £900m by 2024-25. On the pandemic, Mr [...]