The Budget

Ellianne

A bit of a strange one I think, £2.5 million set aside to pass a law allowing longterm British ex-pats to now be able to vote in general elections. And yet in 2016 they weren't allowed to vote in the referendum.

But it had been promised by Cameron. He just never got round to doing anything about it.

It does seem a very odd thing to be doing now, but perhaps the tories think they'd better do something about replacing the elderly tory voters killed off by their appalling handling of covid.

I think Maisie is being too gloomy in the prospects, the debts are going to be paid off long term, the debt announced was 350 Billion and rising, that is nearly £6000 each for our population. Paid over 20 yrs it’s £300 each per year, inflation reduces the impact of that, compared with the loans and mortgages many of us take it is not a large amount.

Freeport’s are no more a threat than airports or docks for smuggling, they allow processing of goods for onward shipping without tariffs, wether the provide jobs for UK or migrant workers we will see.

Ellianne

A bit of a strange one I think, £2.5 million set aside to pass a law allowing longterm British ex-pats to now be able to vote in general elections. And yet in 2016 they weren't allowed to vote in the referendum.

Very interesting Ellianne. Will they allow the pensions of those living abroad to increase too, do you think?

Ellianne

How about paying the hairdresser £80+, or buying some plants and compost from the garden centre £60+ for example? A visit to the chiropractor or dentist. Not overly extravagant. It's an issue of convenience. That's why I'm pleased the limit was raised.

I don't pay my hairdresser £80 nor do I buy compost for £60. I don't have a garden. I do not visit a chiropractor so there are only regular check-ups at the dentist and yes some of those items will seem extravagant to those on a different income, I imagine but you can keep pushing your comparative wealth as long as it keeps you happy and gives you the feeling of one-upmanship you seem to be aiming for.

I definitely prefer your posts on the topic to the rather less informative personal ones.

I think Maisie is being too gloomy in the prospects, the debts are going to be paid off long term, the debt announced was 350 Billion and rising, that is nearly £6000 each for our population. Paid over 20 yrs it’s £300 each per year, inflation reduces the impact of that, compared with the loans and mortgages many of us take it is not a large amount.

I'm not sure where you get the idea from that I'm being too gloomy, Katie59. Sunak signalled austerity loud and clear in the budget without actually saying the word. He has started it off by freezing tax allowances, which means that any pay increase a worker gets this year will be subject to taxation, whereas with a raised tax allowance it would mean that only part of the increase would be subject to taxation. It could also tip people over into the higher tax rate bracket.

We've also had a freeze on public sector wages. What's one of the first austerity measures? Cutting public expenditure of course! Or have we forgotten the last round from 2010 onwards?

As to 'repaying the debt', I wonder if you could explain exactly who we've 'borrowed' this money from and why it needs to be 'paid back'?

you can keep pushing your comparative wealth as long as it keeps you happy and gives you the feeling of one-upmanship you seem to be aiming for.
Good Lord Pippa! And there was me talking about spending a mere £60 -£80 when you say the following, I have bought a great deal of what I needed for my new flat online in the last year too and things like the bathroom, kitchen and new sofa cover and decorator were all online bank transfer payments.

You are not going to change my view of you Ellainne. I will still enjoy your factual posts and there really is a difference between a small amount of capital being transfered from one home to another (unless you think people should not have homes!) and an income that allows you to splash the cash in all directions - and tell us about it - when refering to how we prefer to use card payments. But you are right - I should never share personal detail on this forum - too many rather hateful people.

They should issue, Recovery Bonds, like War Bonds. That would help us get out of debt.

Hildagard

They should issue, Recovery Bonds, like War Bonds. That would help us get out of debt.

I'll ask you the same question.

Who have we borrowed from?

Borrowed from the world bank?

I know nothing,, but I do know that right from the beginning, I was aware that

a. It is not Governments money, it is all taxpayers money
b. It will have to be paid back whoever or whatever(?) the Gov. borrows from

c. can`t but wonder what a different political party or parties would have done from the beginning of Covid and continuing..

but that`s just me!

I do that dinahmo.
What i meant was if i can`t do anything then thats it.
Iv`e signed many petitions on 38 degrees believe me.
And recieved 4 letters from my MP to date.

I'm very pleased the stamp duty holiday is being extended, as we haven't sold our house yet and the bridging loan is mounting up! It will also help our middle daughter, on the verge of moving out of London; it just takes some of the pressure off.

A rise in excess pensioner deaths from coronavirus has seen the Treasury pay £1.5 billion less in state pensions.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, of the more than 144,000 deaths related to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, most have been in people aged over 65.

The OBR estimated that will partly cause the Government’s pensioner spending to fall by £600 million in 2020/21 and £900 million in 2021/22, relative to its March 2020 forecast. It said: “Excess deaths due to the pandemic have also reduced the number of people receiving pensions relative to the assumptions underpinning our March 2020 forecast.”

Absolutely, GrammarGrandma. A lot of money at stake there for many. There were a lot of anxious GNs this week on the house moving thread. My daughter's buyers couldnt get things to work by the end of thos month, and but for a week or two she would have been £14k worse off. The estate agents are a bit grumpy now though that all their commission won't come rolling in this month. They like to make a fast buck!

That's a bit sad Urmstongran.

polnan

Borrowed from the world bank?

I know nothing,, but I do know that right from the beginning, I was aware that

a. It is not Governments money, it is all taxpayers money
b. It will have to be paid back whoever or whatever(?) the Gov. borrows from

c. can`t but wonder what a different political party or parties would have done from the beginning of Covid and continuing..

but that`s just me!

There is no such thing as 'taxpayers money'. That was just a myth started by Margaret Thatcher to justify cutting public spending and privatise everything in sight.

All our money comes from the government. Only the government can create money, generally by spending it into the economy (on public services). It allows commercial banks, on licence, to create money by loans to business and individuals, but it is still money issued by the government.

If the government didn't put money into the economy we'd have nothing to pay our taxes with; government money creation comes before taxation. Taxes are a way to ensure that there isn't too much inflation causing money in the economy.

The government doesn't borrow from other countries, or from a 'world bank'. It doesn't have to, it can create its own money. A huge chunk of what is currently called 'borrowed' money is actually just new money created by the government. So it doesn't owe anybody anything for that.

The rest of the 'borrowed' money is our savings, in things like the NSI and Premium Bonds, and investments in government bonds by institutions such as pension fund managers. It's a safe and reliable investment because the government will always pay the interest it says it will pay and it will never default because it can't go bankrupt. This is why people like saving with government instruments.

Some government bonds are held by foreigners or foreign institutions.

So, who needs to be 'paid back'?

I think that any other political party would have dealt with covid far more effectively.

But that's just me...

P.S. What I say about the national economy is fact, not opinion.

Show me how it is comparatively more beneficial to someone earning £20k than to someone earning £200k and I might see some advantages. It would need measures to improve the social care crisis, to build more affordable homes or to improve school buildings before I might consider calling it good. All these factors, including crowded and inadequate schools and hospitals contributed to the rapid spread of the virus. Please someone point me to the page where this is mentioned in talk of recovery.

I’m a cash person anyway -contactless has somewhat passed me by at any level. Thus far every shop/person I pay takes cash - virus or not!! I’m starting to have trouble getting cash though as ATM’s are disappearing locally. I think it’s all some conspiracy to make us a cashless society, as I do not hold with being too traceable (although I have nothing to hide) I shan’t change and may have to break open my under the floor cash store.

I didn't bother listening to it as I know there would be nothing of use for me. I already knew the increase in Carer's Allowance is less than £2/wk. I think people on UC have something like 25p/week to look forward to. Still, all the household bills wil increase by far more than that.

Elliane that because they wanted to win the referendum. Now they want their votes.

How many of our “wonderful” government might decide to live abroad and still vote?

P.S. What I say about the national economy isfact, not opinion.
If there's one thing I've learnt on such GNs threads it is that several posters' (Maizie) facts and evidence are well researched and valuable. I respect such posters.
What I don't understand is why someone's else's personal facts and examples of figures, used merely to prove a point, are ridiculed with such venom?

ayse

Elliane that because they wanted to win the referendum. Now they want their votes.

How many of our “wonderful” government might decide to live abroad and still vote?

But how can they suppress votes with one hand only to court them afterwards?

The tax allowance freeze will not come into force until after the 2022 rise in allowances. So its not going to affect anyone this year, or even next year. And, to be fair, the personal allowance for basic rate taxpayers has gone up quite a bit in the last few years.

Ellianne

ayse

Elliane that because they wanted to win the referendum. Now they want their votes.

How many of our “wonderful” government might decide to live abroad and still vote?

But how can they suppress votes with one hand only to court them afterwards?

I think there was a lot of of weirdness about that referendum. Why were non-naturalised Commonwealth citizens allowed to vote when EU citizens weren't?
Why wasn't there a supermajority imposed?
Why weren't 16 yr olds allowed to vote? They had been for the Scottish Independence referendum.
Why didn't Cameron make good his promise of abolishing the years of residence abroad limit for UK citizens?

All water under the bridge now, though.

As I suggested earlier, I think that the tories think that 'old people' are their natural voters. Want to increase their numbers prior to the next GE...

Saetana

The tax allowance freeze will not come into force until after the 2022 rise in allowances. So its not going to affect anyone this year, or even next year. And, to be fair, the personal allowance for basic rate taxpayers has gone up quite a bit in the last few years.

Sorry? Are you saying it's rising this year and next? According to my paper this year's rise (April 2021 -March 2022) will take place but nothing after that until 2026.

Why shouldn't it have gone up 'quite a bit' in the last few years? Should taxpayers be thankful for small mercies? Will that make them accepting of an unnecessary personal allowance freeze? It all sounds a bit patronising to me...