Chancellor’s spring statement

[Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase]

AIBU to think that today we are about to be hugely disappointed by what Rishi says in his spring statement and just to realise just how out of touch he is with the grim reality that normal people (I.e. not millionaire politicians) in the Uk face?

My prediction is that he won’t back down on the 1.25% increase in NI contributions that he is making people pay from April. There will be a paltry reduction in fuel duty (maybe a few pence if we are lucky - but that will easily be cancelled out within a few days as prices increase to compensate). Maybe he will reduce the duty on champagne this time or some other gimmicky sweetener (wasn’t it Prosecco last time?). He might raise the threshold from which people have to start paying tax but for most working families that won’t make a jot of difference.

So it feels like we are sitting ducks and that as time goes by more and more people end up really struggling.

A quick calculation tells me I'll be £320 pa worse off due to the NI rise in April, and then this increase in the threshold will save me £360 pa. What's the point?

Also, petrol goes up more than 5p per week at the moment, so fuck off with that Rishi.

Rishi needs sacking. We need to get them out. People need to literally revolt against the government. France did so and look at them only 4 percent increase in fuel bills because they knew what would happen.

No windfall tax on energy companies - surprise surprise

@ElizabethG81

Also, petrol goes up more than 5p per week at the moment, so fuck off with that Rishi.

Exactly

The NIC bit confuses me. He has said that the NHS?Care Levy (announced in the Autumn) won't be delayed (as many oppositions, and some Tory MP were pushing for before - reality though, it was never going to happen), but the threshold isn't rising until July?
I understand that's to allow time to put things in pace etc, but it still means people are going to be hard hit by the increase in April (for 3 months?), on top of a massive increase to utilities, increase to Council Tax, and increase to water bills etc - all big increases coming into effect from April.
Would it not make sense to delay the NHS Levy to July too, to help decrease the impact over the next 3 months. Then start it in July, when the threshold increases?

CT wise, I live in a band D property, so will benefit from the £150 rebate. However, my own council have said that they will only start paying the rebates from May (after they have received at least one direct debit from you), but the rebate payment schedule is May-September (so some people will not get their rebate until September).

Seems to me that I am going to potentially be hit hard for 3 months, and then will suddenly receive a little help in Summer. Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining about that help, and DH and I can budget and are able to cut back on some things to be able to live, but I fear many others will already be debt by the end of those 3 months.

@Wilma55

Nic threshold up to same as tax from July

That's around £300 a year saved, I suppose. No use for those not in work though.

This is just… infuriating. Things will never change. This isn’t a matter of a few pennies anymore. The rich Tory scum are making fools out of us all.

I cannot believe their arrogance

He's not even listening to the shadow chancellor!

Well the 5p off fuel will be nice for a couple of days. What about the bloomin energy bills though?!

We need to spend more on defence not on an income tax cut... just as we have a General Election in 2024, which is just a bribe as it will come at the cost of higher council taxes and lower public services.

Its quite irresponsible, our armed forces are already incredibly weak.

Nothing on household energy.

Their lack of action on energy costs and blatant profiteering by the energy companies is astonishing…

The change to NI threshold and rates means that every worker earning over £9568/year and less than £41300/year will pay less NI than they did this year.

£15,000 pays £329 less
£20,000 pays £267 less
£25,000 pays £204 less
£30,000 pays £142 less
£40,000 pays £17 less

Rishi needs sacking. We need to get them out. People need to literally revolt against the government. France did so and look at them only 4 percent increase in fuel bills because they knew what would happen.

100% this. I am so, so angry at the utter incompetence or blatant corruption of the tory scum in power and those who keep them there. I wish there was a way to make sure it was them, and them alone, who would bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis but it never is. Seriously fuck the tories.

Look at the state of Boris

He's like a puffy slug

@Alexandra2001

We need to spend more on defence not on an income tax cut... just as we have a General Election in 2024, which is just a bribe as it will come at the cost of higher council taxes and lower public services.

Its quite irresponsible, our armed forces are already incredibly weak.

Nothing on household energy.

I may be wrong but I think I heard NATO saying recently that all members would have to spend at least 2% GDP towards defence. The Ukraine is huge - if Putin does succeed he could use it to try and further intimidate the west. If you look on a a map you will see that we are not that far from the west of Ukraine. The other thing that alarmed me is that Norway Sweden and Finland aren’t part of NATO - if god forbid Russia ever invaded those countries then they would effectively be our next door neighbour.

The 5p cut in fuel duty (which is actually 6p due to VAT) benefits the rich far more than the poor. The richest 10% buy 8 times more fuel than the poorest 10%.

HNRTT but two points -

1. The government makes decisions in the interests of it's powerful stakeholders. That's not most voters or PPs here.
2. what is of most politican benefit to the government and the Chancellor personally. Spending money now or spending the 'benefits of prudence' just before the next election? If the next election were to be in May 2022 instead of May 2024 then do any PPs think the same decisions would be announced?

@Zilla1

HNRTT but two points - 1) The government makes decisions in the interests of it's powerful stakeholders. That's not most voters or PPs here. 2) what is of most politican benefit to the government and the Chancellor personally. Spending money now or spending the 'benefits of prudence' just before the next election? If the next election were to be in May 2022 instead of May 2024 then do any PPs think the same decisions would be announced?

Absolutely - funny that the income tax cut isn’t coming in until 2024 isnt it - nice little sweetener to get them in at the next election 😂

They're bloody useless and I can see no viable alternative, so frustrating.

I believe they should renationalise all the gas and electric, we should all be on the same tariff none of this scrabbling about to get on a fix, no more prepayments being more expensive and no more companies taking the piss and earning a fortune.

With regard to fuel another piss take, about 80p is tax, where we live there's no bus service, well there is but there's a bus every 2 hours!

Rishi needs a week long channel 5 rich house poor house, house swap might wake him up.

@Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase
Sweden & Finland are not in NATO, but Norway were a founding member in 1949.

So if the NI threshold is now going to be above my earnings does this mean I won't get credits any more?

When PPs say the Chancellor is incompetent, what of today's Statement seems incompetent if competence is acting in their political interests and those of their powerful stakeholders? I'm not advocating this but highlighting it. And I'm not talking about the competence in the £10s of billions 'wasted' over the last few years though regarding that, the waste sickens me and it springs to mind every time there 'we can't pay ourselves what we can't afford' is trotted out but much of that money might have gone to those stakeholders.

I expect you are right. My personal view is that they should tax the fuck out of companies that are avoiding it. Except 1) they are all shareholders, so they are making money from it. And 2) The likes of the DM would crucify them if they removed their ‘Make money in the UK but pay tax in the Caribbean’ schemes. I believe in Europe they are putting tax controls in place to stop that. I can’t imagine why all these rich shareholders were so pro-Brexit, I really can’t.

tbh I was shocked to find out that Rishi Sunak is in charge of government finances whilst holding a multi-million pound property portfolio. Biased, much?

How can this even be allowed?