The Budget

ab, I wondered what the reference to Wales was all about. As far as I know, England and Wales have the same benefits system. My sister, by the way, lives in England and the people carrying out the assessments are NOT all appropriately qualified.

Goodness me! They probably use sheep farmers in Wales! ;-D

I don't think polls matter much straight after a budget. What ever voters think right now, if there was a general election tomorrow the Tories would be re-elected. Sadly the Labour Party is a long way from being electable.

My perception is that the Labour Party has been on the back foot too long now and needs to start shouting its alternative proposals to government policies from the rooftops. Voters need to believe that there are other parties worth voting for and we're a long way from that. I live in England and know more about the SNP's plans for Scotland than those of Labour, Lib Dem, etc. for the UK and I say this as a life long Labour voter.

Well ab I am little, and I am from England, and unlike some, have a sense of humour.

You're exactly right Wilma and if Corbyn had not been elected as Leader, but one of the other candidates, then by now there would be more support for them, as it is, the party has made itself unelectable.

I agree with you, Wilma. The Labour Party has missed so many own goals. It needs to stop attacking its own leader and start getting its message across. It needs to educate some of its own MPs about economics, so that when faced with questions they actually challenge the mainstream.

You don't know that, roses. Corbyn has encouraged people (particularly the young) to become less disengaged from politics. Labour has picked up some new supporters.

Let's have Labour in and have uncontrolled borrowing, not worth worrying about the future, that will take care of itself, that is for the next generation to sort out, that nice man Jeremy can arrange everything, pity he's no good at public speaking but don't suppose anyone will notice. Simple.

Actually I support Jeremy Corbyn as leader and think he's an honorable man, which is more than I can say for most of the candidates he beat to become leader. He's been hung, drawn and quartered by the media and most of his colleagues stood and watched. The shadow cabinet needs to knuckle down and get on with the role of the Opposition and until this happens, the Tories will continue to make irreversible changes to our social care.

He may be honourable but is not a leader, and therein lies the problem for the Labour Party.

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit!

Corbyn has never advocated uncontrolled borrowing. Did you know that the Conservatives have borrowed more and repaid less than Labour since 1979? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2016/03/14/labour-have-borrowed-less-and-repaid-more-than-the-conservatives-since-1979/

Corbyn isn't advocating borrowing to support the pound and cover up the bad news (as Osborne has done) or to pay to the banks (as Osborne has done), but to target infrastructure building. This would have the advantage of providing jobs, so people could earn money, on which they would pay taxes and buy products, which would stimulate production, which in turn would increase profits, on which people would pay taxes...and so it goes on.

Poor Jeremy! Didn't learn public speaking at Eton and doesn't buy his suits from Saville Row. He stands no chance! Ah well!

I suggest you make enquiries as to which school Jeremy did attend!

Agreed, Wilma. How anybody can think the current Cabinet is competent is beyond me. Anybody who watched Question Time yesterday surely wonders how on earth Nicky Morgan got her job. She was appalling.

I know which school he attended and it wasn't Eton!

Luckylegs9 so it's uncontrolled borrowing you're worried about. A quote from the Tory Telegraph in December 2015

It’s now all but certain the UK will post a sixth successive year of triple-digit, billion-pound deficits, five of them under the Tories. Osborne has borrowed more in his half-decade as Chancellor than his predecessor Gordon Brown did during a decade at the Treasury. The Conservatives’ 2010 “emergency Budget” said the books would be balanced by next year. Official projections now suggest that won’t happen until 2018-19.

In the budget GO revised 2018-19 to 2019-20. So the amount borrowed doesn't matter as long as its controlled? And from what I've read, so far the Chancellor is about the only person who believes 2019-20 is realistic.

One of the reasons the Danes have a stable and happy society is that they have much more equality in wealth than we do. There is no huge disparity between the bosses and the workers and the disabled and pensioners have a decent income and standard of living.

The present government has latched on to the idea that actually the British like to believe the worst and to be made to suffer and if you can convince them at the same time that you (courtesy of your public school education, Saville Row suit and cheesy smile) really are the only people fit to lead the country you can successfully line the pockets of the rich whilst making the poorest suffer. You do it by changing the meaning of words, employment now can mean a zero hours contract with no guarantee of work or wages, so that the figures look good. Turning one part of society against the other, Hard working family v benefit scroungers. And keeping older people who do vote on your side. Far more than worrying about government borrowing we should be wondering what will happen when the younger generation realise they have been completely abandoned, are earning peanuts, will never own property or pay off their student loan and blame us for letting it happen.

Luckylegs9 I know what school Jeremy Corbyn went to (I Googled it), so what's your point?

Is it me or does Gideon seem to be shrinking? - if he continues getting smaller he will be able to deliver the next budget speech rather Rob Brydonesque from within his own budget box.

He may be honourable but is not a leader, and therein lies the problem for the Labour Party.

There are many different types of leader Roses. The only people who need to decide if he is the right leader for the Labour party are the Labour Party - or have you joined without telling us

Why does something always go wrong in a Gideon budget?

I sense yet another u-turn. He isn't much good is he? For the first term he blamed Labour for his difficulties, now he is beginning to blame the international situation. He has borrowed more than Labour ever and doing so on the backs of the poor.

If I had a vote, I would still vote for Jeremy Corbyn to be leader of the Labour Party. I hope more and more people will start listening to to what he is saying instead of looking at what he's wearing.

I thought his reply to the budget was very good Wilma and it is a notoriously difficult speech to give. Quite a few commentators have grudgingly said this too. Can you imagine if some of our past leaders were exposed to media in the way that current MPs are. There is more to leadership than sharp suits and witty remarks as you say.

Gracesgran I thought what he had to say was excellent, but not the delivery and the Deputy Speaker might as well have gone for a cup of tea, for all the use he was. I wish there was some way to stop the heckling. In this day and age it's undignified.

Before Christmas the Canadian government elected a new Speaker and in his acceptance speech he said he would not tolerate heckling. At one point he talked about sacrifices made in the name of democracy, including those

...who fought so that we could speak freely here and express our different opinions. Let us here resolve to conduct ourselves in this place that we might be worthy of the sacrifices they made.

We could do with respecting those sacrifices too.

uGov puts labour one point ahead of tories