Oh will you look at that! A government u-turn!

[tenbob]

AIBU to think this government is now totally dead in the water..?

Wonder what all the Truss handmaidens tying themselves in knots to defend the tax cut will say now..?

@TheHoover yes similar to urgent community response teams, the onus is very much on discharge where I am though. There is also quite a bit of crossover with the community care teams, so we will go in to do one thing at the same time as they are going in to do another, which is bonkers really.

We fortunately do still have a very limited number of step down/rehab beds so are doing slightly better than @Blossomtoes . But I shall be watching the public spending cuts with trepidation !

The pound has dropped again against the dollar following Truss' conference speech. Not surprising, since it was all hot air and no substance.

I'm glad we might not be having inflation running at 22%, but maybe @Clavinova and the other Tory fans on this thread should spare a thought for the thousands of people who are suddenly having to pay a lot more for their mortgages because of Kamikwasi's disastrous budget - because the U turn this week is not going to help them.

How, for example, would people feel if they lost their employment rights. No redundancy. American style "fire at will" rights?

Does that sound good?

HCAs are usually band 2.

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/working-health/working-nhs/nhs-pay-and-benefits/agenda-change-pay-rates/agenda-change-pay-rates

£10.25 an hour based on a 40 hour week if my maths is right for a HCA with 2+ years experience.

pointythings
The pound has dropped again against the dollar following Truss' conference speech

The Pound was particularly vulnerable to the Dollar given its strong advance over recent days. The Pound is the best-performing currency of the past week, leaving it especially exposed to a pullback

www.poundsterlinglive.com/usd/17626-revenge-of-the-dollar-delivers-pound-sterling-s-reality-check

The Pound is the best-performing currency of the past week.

Thanks again, BoE.

Promising news here - last night;

The Bank of England has stopped buying government bonds for the first time since its emergency intervention to stabilise the market, in a sign that the panic that gripped gilts has already subsided.

The Bank of England pledged to spend up to £65bn buying gilts, committed to spend up to £5bn each day until October 14 to stabilize the market.
On Monday it emerged that Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor, had authorised the Bank to spend up to £100bn. However, just £3.7bn has been spent via the facility so far and the Bank purchased just £22.1m of government bonds in a sign that market stability was returning.

In further signs that market tension is easing, the cost of servicing shorter-dated UK debt continued to fall as the value of the pound strengthened.
Yields on 10-year gilts fell to 3.9pc on Tuesday, marking a 0.6 point drop from the peak a week earlier.

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/10/04/bank-england-stops-buying-bonds-market-chaos-subsides/

Yes. That's why the traders call it the Great British Peso.

I like the puff piece though.

The difference is that the wage bill would be paid direct. If you cut out the profit involved in care home places the cost would be far lower.

@L1ttledrummergirl you really are a despicable excuse of a human being aren't you, to even think that someone would lie about something like this speaks volumes about your character.

And if this is your relative - www.itv.com/news/wales/2022-09-29/patient-waits-nearly-two-days-in-ambulance-before-being-admitted-to-a-and-e
you are pretty despiccable for 'outing' them to make a political point

@BoxcarMilly, have you watched the news recently? Such waits are now commonplace. My local trust has had people waiting up to 60hours on trolleys.

Can't see how saying so is "outing" anyone.

@TooBigForMyBoots It was the "41 hours" that L1ttle quoted - an odd figure.

So IMO she either made up her post (copying it from the article I posted) or has outed a sick family member (and herself).

Nope, not my relative, sorry. It looks as though you've found another poor person.
Are they lying as well?

As I said, my sibling was lucky, at least they had a cubicle in a&e, even if on a trolley rather than a bed.

Meanwhile

Our credit rating is potentially going down
Which will affect lots of things.
What's the cost of Government borrowing at the moment?

And how does that compare to other countries?

From Fitch

"We forecast the economy to contract in 2023 despite the energy tariff support and the proposed tax cuts. In addition to the energy crisis and weaker external demand (including contraction in the eurozone), the likely tighter domestic financing conditions will lead to a contraction of 1.0% in 2023 before growth recovers to 1.8% in 2024."

More from Fitch

A second rating agency has threatened to downgrade the UK’s credit rating, warning that the unfunded tax cuts in Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget will drive up borrowing.
Fitch has cut the outlook on the UK’s AA- investment grade credit rating, to Negative from Stable, following a similar move from S&P.

Fitch warned that the “large and unfunded fiscal package” could lead to a significant increase in the government’s deficits over the medium term, and undermine the previous government’s fiscal consolidation strategy.

In a rather scathing verdict of Kwarteng and Liz Truss’s plans, Fitch says:
The large fiscal stimulus, announced without compensatory measures or an independent evaluation of the macroeconomic and public finances’ impact, and the inconsistency between fiscal and monetary policy stance given strong inflationary pressures, have in Fitch’s view, negatively impacted financial markets’ confidence and the credibility of the policy framework, a key long-standing rating strength

Fitch also criticises Kwarteng for hinting that there could be more tax cuts, and fears the government’s politicial credibility, and the credibility of its fiscal policy, are both hurt.

Monday’s humiliating u-turn on abolishing the top rate of UK income tax didnt change Fitch’s wider assessment either:

Although the government reversed the elimination of the 45p top rate tax (expected to cost £2bn in FY22-2023), the reportedly negative impact of the tax package, and related financial market volatility, on public opinion and the government’s weakened political capital could further undermine the credibility of and support for the government’s fiscal strategy.

Fitch estimates that “without compensatory measures”, the general government deficit will remain elevated at 7.8% of GDP in 2022 and increase to 8.8% in 2023.
Borrowing will be pushed up by rising interest payments on inflation-linked bonds, household support packages, the energy price cap and tax cuts.
This would lift the UK government debt to 109% of GDP by 2024 from an estimated 101% in 2022, reflecting “both higher primary deficits and a weaker growth outlook”.

Fitch have already down graded to negative, following on from S&P last week.

www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/fitch-revises-united-kingdom-outlook-to-negative-affirms-at-aa-05-10-2022

Maybe these were the left wing think tanks Truss was referring too?

@cakeorwine x post !

When Gordon Brown left office theU.K.'s credit rating was AAA and stable and the exchange rate was $2.10 to the £. Now after 12 years of tory misrule our rating has dropped to AA negative and (after massive support from the BoE)
$1.10. 12 years of failure.

twitter.com/icantswallowth1/status/1576944746634747904?s=46&t=yKCGQJFbp0hD2RmVF9obpQ

And interesting in the Daily Express

www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1678950/income-tax-stealth-raid-liz-truss-freeze-threshold

The Times reporting similar -

The average household will be £1,450 a year worse off after Liz Truss’s “tax-cutting” mini-budget as a result of an additional £21 billion of stealth income taxes, according to a detailed analysis.
The typical basic-rate taxpayer will pay an extra £500 in income tax and national insurance contributions per year by 2026, while higher-rate earners face a £3,000 rise, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

Add to that the impending mortgage crisis and it makes grim reading

Bloomberg UK
At least £300 billion has been wiped from the combined value of UK stock and bond markets since Liz Truss became prime minister.

Ouch! But hey, maybe it was just because the queen died.

New Redfield poll. The tories can perhaps feel relieved Truss’ speech didn’t hurt them further:

“Labour leads by 28%, tied largest lead for them that we've EVER recorded.

Westminster Voting Intention (5 Oct.):

Labour 52% (–)
Conservative 24% (–)
Liberal Democrat 10% (–)
Green 5% (–)
SNP 4% (-1)
Reform UK 3% (–)
Other 1% (–)

Changes +/- 2 Oct.”