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.

Thanks @Zilla1, you just made me laugh 😹.

They lost my vote

@Blossomtoes sometimes people have to laugh or else they'd cry. I find the desperation people are feeling heartbreaking.

@Whelmed

The thing is that if there was an election this summer the Tories would win, not because they've done a great job but because we're convinced that everyone else is worse. So they don't really need to try that hard at this point.

Exactly this. Worrying.

Come the GE, it will be a case of voting for the least worse party 😳

@EngTech

Come the GE, it will be a case of voting for the least worse party 😳

And that's what they want you to believe. Job done.

@EngTech

Come the GE, it will be a case of voting for the least worse party 😳

Just like last time. Depressing, isn’t it?

Come the GE, it will be a case of voting for the least worse party 😳

‘And that's what they want you to believe. Job done’

100% agree. They’ll show a picture of one of the opposition leaders looking funny eating a bacon sandwich or kneeling or not crying over a picture of Prince Philip. Then a load of this lot on here complaining today will dutifully tick Tory in the election booth despite only lining up at the food bank the week before muttering crap about ‘woke’ or ‘they’re all as bad as each other’ or some bollocks to try and justify their decision. Can’t be arsed to care anymore.

One good thing though is I’m glad people aren’t falling for the ‘it’s coz of Ukraine’ bollocks which everyone know doesn’t add up. Inflation was skyrocketing before the war.

@lonelyapple

It's ridiculous that they are punishing work by making those on PAYE pay 1.25% more NI whilst benefits are going up by 3%. Hardly an incentive to work. They should be encouraging work, not making workers pay more for the privilege!

As that could mean the heady amount of around £1.75 extra a week for people who don't have children or a disability, I'm OK with that. They're basically being given the equivalent of a pint of milk and a packet of crisps a week (even though they too will need to pay for electric and the higher prices on food, so they're experiencing a cut in real terms as well).

The energy and fuel crisis effects everything. Yes the debts have to be paid, but what’s the rush? Surely paying the money back at an affordable rate which doesn’t cause so much pain is better? Over a longer term?
The fuel and energy fat cats make billions in profits, as normal.

There is nothing to help me in the changes. I cannot work due to various disabilities but due to just having over the savings threshold I can't claim any benefits. I get a small workplace pension but have 4 years until I get my state pension. My savings are topping up my £300 per month income until I get my state pension. They should just about last until then if I am careful. I cannot drive due to one of my disabilities. Due to my low income I don't pay income tax or National insurance. So absolutely nothing for me. Fortunately I am in a fixed energy tariff for a while longer so my energy bills are OK for now. Once my fix ends I won't be able to use my central heating at all.
I suspect there are many others in the same situation as me. There will be those in the same situation but without a fixed tariff for their energy. The chancellor should have done something to help people with the astronomical energy bills.
Martin Lewis today said energy companies are possibly hiking direct debit payments by in some cases 100% in order to help their cash flow; as the price cap is bei g raised by 54% so nobody should have their Direct Debits doubled.

@Zilla1

Can you imagine what the world would be like if Lloyd Webber had emigrated. Ok the shows would have stayed in the West End provided they make a profit. But imagine the loss to the cultural life if he had left. And other like-minded. Inconceivable as Vizzini might repeat.

@Hearwego

The energy and fuel crisis effects everything. Yes the debts have to be paid, but what’s the rush? Surely paying the money back at an affordable rate which doesn’t cause so much pain is better? Over a longer term? The fuel and energy fat cats make billions in profits, as normal.

Trouble is the interest on the debt. It was a whopping £6.1 billion in January alone, so that's around £70-£80 billion per year.

That's why we can't just let debt continue to rise - the interest continues to rise too, especially as interest rates Worldwide are on the rise.

@fogglez

We need improved productivity. That's thw only way to raise living standards. If interest rates go up significantly businesses will be even less inclined to borrow to invest in productivity increases and technology.

Productivity is shocking but how can the gov improve it?

There are lots of interesting articles about it. It requires a coherent economic plan from Government. Huge investment in skills and technology, which will pay back many times over. Fixing our education system would be a good start, so that people leave education with the skills employers need. Proper support for innovation and startups rather than focus on huge multinationals. Oh and rejoin the EU, obviously.

www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/boost-productivity-growth/

It's not like there's a shortage of potential high productivity sectors to focus on, some of which are also essential to national security in the future: technology around food production so that we aren't so massively reliant on imports. Likewise with fuel and green technology. Etc.

Martin Lewis should be the chancellor. Or at least some kind of advisor for them, I wish they would listen to him.
His the only one who has a grip on all this and has empathy and was pleading with the government today on lbc radio to have a re think about a few of their policies too
He may be a wealthy man , but he understands what a knife edge people walk every day and how these rises will impact the ones who can least afford it. He understands.
The ones on the front benches really don't.
It is so sad and will only get worse , sadly .
Wished I had the answers and people are living in fear of these constant price rises and energy bills which will go up again in October.
It is so scary.

Trouble is the interest on the debt. It was a whopping £6.1 billion in January alone, so that's around £70-£80 billion per year.

That's why we can't just let debt continue to rise - the interest continues to rise too, especially as interest rates Worldwide are on the rise.
We could allow it to continue to rise if we wanted - we don't owe it all to Barclays on our Barclaycard, and we aren't on a fixed income.

Crippling people with tax rises when they're struggling on crap wages won't encourage economic growth much, will it?

@the80sweregreat

Martin Lewis should be the chancellor. Or at least some kind of advisor for them, I wish they would listen to him. His the only one who has a grip on all this and has empathy and was pleading with the government today on lbc radio to have a re think about a few of their policies too He may be a wealthy man , but he understands what a knife edge people walk every day and how these rises will impact the ones who can least afford it. He understands. The ones on the front benches really don't. It is so sad and will only get worse , sadly . Wished I had the answers and people are living in fear of these constant price rises and energy bills which will go up again in October. It is so scary.

The ones on the front benches really don't. They know full well - they don't care.

@GiraffesInScarfs

It's not like there's a shortage of potential high productivity sectors to focus on, some of which are also essential to national security in the future: technology around food production so that we aren't so massively reliant on imports. Likewise with fuel and green technology. Etc.

Indeed - or we could create some good quality public sector jobs in healthcare and even law enforcement - almost nothing is enforced in the UK - imagine having the resources to deal with the scale of fraud instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

@GiraffesInScarfs Those things are great & I would be happy for my taxes to be used for that but looking at the track record of the gov, it's not going to happen!

[quote fogglez]@GiraffesInScarfs Those things are great & I would be happy for my taxes to be used for that but looking at the track record of the gov, it's not going to happen! [/quote]
I know.

I wish that interest rates would rise enough that I could get anything from my savings. Their value is being depleted by inflation and even £30 a month would pay a bill. Just one, but God, 5% was manageable for years and years and years - why do we have no wiggle room any more?

Of course this government couldn't care less about people struggling. They won't care if people lose their accommodation, become ill or die.

However if there were a GE tomorrow they'd probably still be in power. It's not rocket science to work out why.

@Whelmed

The thing is that if there was an election this summer the Tories would win, not because they've done a great job but because we're convinced that everyone else is worse. So they don't really need to try that hard at this point.

Labour, despite the Ukrainian war (which Johnson must have thanked his lucky stars for) are still 5pts ahead of the Tories.

Though judging by the comments on my MPs FB page, Labour might go further ahead.

We'd prob get another Coalition, funnily enough for Macron, he has seen his popularity sky rocket, the right wing contenders are nowhere.

I think the issue with rate rises is that a significant proportion of mortgages were already precarious even at negligible interest rates with a relatively high percentage of monthly repayments being paid with the proceeds of unsecured borrowing. Significant interest rate rises will tip many into default as presumably will energy, car fuel and food price rises. A disaster for the home owners and families but any correction might help new buyers I suppose though I think house price uncertainty normally leads to a reduction in new mortgage writing by the lenders so if prices drop, new buyers struggle more to benefit.

That said, I think there is a relatively high proportion of houses owned outright without mortgages so presumably they are insulated from rate rises and may benefit from increase in savings rates. I suppose wealth is, like William Gibson's future, here already but unevenly distributed.

I think the wealthy don't rely on savings interest rates, rather from the healthy returns on property and financial assets and will have increased their wealth from the last twelve-odd years' QE. Oh to be wealthy and risk the moral corruption.