The Budget - will it make any difference ?

There was nothing for pensioners or those on benefits. The pension is out of date and has not kept up with the current
inflation rates. How are pensioners expected to be able to afford the huge increase in utility bills like gas and electric from April? The state of the economy is pushing the vulnerable into poverty some with nowhere to turn. All that when M.Ps are getting a £2000 pay rise it is scandalous.

You might be interested in the post immediately before yours 3nanny6.

Dickens

^We have the New Right economics at work here. There will certainly be a group in government who think there should be no such thing as a state pension. They will want everyone to buy their own and limit SP to a level of a benefit that very few can claim.^

This - which should come as a surprise to no-one - is exactly what a free-market, libertarian, small-state, government wants. And this is the government we have got.

It should be trumpeted loud and clear to those who think that, in the interests of 'fairness' Sunak should have done this or that to limit the effects of inflation on the poor. The poor (for whatever reason) are a burden on the state purse and the government doesn't do anything to alleviate their impoverishment, because it doesn't believe in state intervention in the economy, nor in state provision, which means it doesn't believe in the provision of a national health service free at the point of need, nor the provision of a state pension. What it believes is that these services are a commodity which people should purchase and others make a profit from.

It's just unfortunate for this government that it cannot overnight remove all these state-funded services because even in our apathetic nation, people just might revolt against them. So they are doing it slowly, by stealth. But the ultimate aim is the same. You need health care? Buy it. You want a pension? Purchase a policy. Can't afford it? Well get another job - on top of the one you already have, even if it means working 14 / 16 hour-days. Of course, there will be a low-slung 'safety net'... but only the virtually destitute will be able to access it. And they are already at rock bottom.

I wish people would understand that this is the direction in which this government is taking us - with or without Johnson.

Here it is again.

This is what most of the government want, and this is what Brexit has enabled by giving the tories a huge and undeserved majority in Parliament.

Have you ever felt like Cassandra, Dickens?

I thought Bj`s face said it all.
BULL SHIT.

Tizliz & JaneJudge, I paid 55p per litre for heating oil last November. Yesterday evening I ordered the minimum permitted 500 litres at a quoted 99.9 pence per litre. Yesterday morning, before the cut in fuel duty was announced, the same supplier quoted 113 pence per litre. Prices and delivery dates from this supplier have been the most favourable in my area throughout these recent difficulties.

There are 1.5 million people in the UK reliant on oil to heat their homes and we are entirely at the mercy of the market and consequently of world affairs. While other essentials, particularly gas, are similarly affected, unfortunately oil is regarded as a commodity and not a utility, and never gets a mention in government discussion of energy prices.

If things continue as they are it looks as though electricity may turn out to be the cheapest form of energy, at least for the foreseeable future.

Interesting small interview at the very end of the World at One. It was prompted by general trends and, in particular, a poll in the Mirror.

That poll found that 42% of people would back Labour's Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves on the economy over 36% who back Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. The general consensus seems to be that the Tories cannot win an election unless the general public trust it on the economy.

Delila, apparently some of the quotes are 150pl at the moment!

We think about our own cost of living rises and they will be harsh for many.

Food banks are being affected too. Those that provide cooked meals are turning away certain donated foods because they cannot afford the energy to cook them!

Still huge Covid costs to pay for so he can't give much. Fuel tax is not expensive for him as rising fuel costs mean that he can get the same revenue from a lower rate of tax.

Instead of Whoa is me, what are the government going to do?
How about what am I going to do for myself. Get rid of the box tickers, reduce State control/interference to a minimum and the size of a welfare state we can't afford. We were at our best when we had entrepreneurship, enterprise and self reliance in a free market. Wake up and smell the coffee there are no free lunches.

Is that back in the Victorian era jackthelad? Maybe the workhouse for the old/sick/poor too.

Dickens

^We have the New Right economics at work here. There will certainly be a group in government who think there should be no such thing as a state pension. They will want everyone to buy their own and limit SP to a level of a benefit that very few can claim.^

This - which should come as a surprise to no-one - is exactly what a free-market, libertarian, small-state, government wants. And this is the government we have got.

It should be trumpeted loud and clear to those who think that, in the interests of 'fairness' Sunak should have done this or that to limit the effects of inflation on the poor. The poor (for whatever reason) are a burden on the state purse and the government doesn't do anything to alleviate their impoverishment, because it doesn't believe in state intervention in the economy, nor in state provision, which means it doesn't believe in the provision of a national health service free at the point of need, nor the provision of a state pension. What it believes is that these services are a commodity which people should purchase and others make a profit from.

It's just unfortunate for this government that it cannot overnight remove all these state-funded services because even in our apathetic nation, people just might revolt against them. So they are doing it slowly, by stealth. But the ultimate aim is the same. You need health care? Buy it. You want a pension? Purchase a policy. Can't afford it? Well get another job - on top of the one you already have, even if it means working 14 / 16 hour-days. Of course, there will be a low-slung 'safety net'... but only the virtually destitute will be able to access it. And they are already at rock bottom.

I wish people would understand that this is the direction in which this government is taking us - with or without Johnson.

I’ve given up saying it.

Either people want a free market small state, low regulation economy or they are too stupid to understand the implication of where this government is taking us.

Take the green tax? Not sure if that's the correct wording, off energy bills?

To parrot the words of that great philospher - "Blah, blah, blah"

I could have cried when I heard Sunak, one of the richest in the cabinet, speaking on the Today programme this morning.

Questioned about lack of support in his mini budget for the poorest and most vulnerable who are being pushed below the poverty line, including thousands of children, his answer was the 5p reduction in petrol tax, Oh and better toilets for the disabled!

Little consolation for those without cars and choosing between eating or heating, who have had UC cut, no rise in benefits and are expected to survive a cost of living crisis.

This as you say Dickens is New Right economics at work and it is not a pretty picture. Is this the sort of country most of us want to live in, even although we may be some of the better off I wonder? I for one won’t be voting for it at the next GE.

JaneJudge, yes, as things stand I think I’ve been comparatively lucky.

I’ll just slip this in here.

The fixed term parliament is no more. Johnson now has the power to go to the country when he thinks he stands the best chance.

This budget won’t have helped much.

NI needed to be raised and also for anyone still working to pay into it. We haven't been paying enough for Health and Social Care for many many years if you take into account all the medical breakthroughs and the cost of all that new medication. Also its why there is so little Mental Health help around. All the stuff we dont pay for at the front of the line has to be paid for somehow. May 2024 is the expected date for the next election.

Jackthelad, I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I don’t see much “woe is me” here, and people like yourself thinking about what one can do for oneself is what got us into the position where increasingly the least well off can sink or swim as far as this government is concerned. Doing something for yourself often translates into that well-worn phrase “I’m alright Jack”.

Most of the posts on this thread exhibit concern for others - what’s “woe is me” about that?

cc

Still huge Covid costs to pay for so he can't give much. Fuel tax is not expensive for him as rising fuel costs mean that he can get the same revenue from a lower rate of tax.

Some of the Covid costs were channelled in completely the wrong direction. Huge sums of furlough money were paid to very rich people who could well afford to pay their workers a retainer - there is a long list including Victoria Beckham and Damien Herst who apparently received £1.3 million. This government will always look after their own.

Jackthelad

Instead of Whoa is me, what are the government going to do?
How about what am I going to do for myself. Get rid of the box tickers, reduce State control/interference to a minimum and the size of a welfare state we can't afford. We were at our best when we had entrepreneurship, enterprise and self reliance in a free market. Wake up and smell the coffee there are no free lunches.

No doubt you'll think I'm wrong to criticize but surely Whoa is for horse and woe is me?

Tizliz

Not even mentioned was heating oil. Tens of thousands of us heat with oil, the price has gone up 110% this last month.

He is assuming people can afford to buy solar panels and alternatives to boilers which are hugely expensive. A neighbour is in the process of having solar panels installed at a cost of £13,000, a small sum to Mr Sunak but completely out of reach to most people. We had oil fired central heating when we lived in Bedfordshire in the 1980s and I know how expensive it is and how costly it is to install an alternative system.

MaggsMcG

NI needed to be raised and also for anyone still working to pay into it. We haven't been paying enough for Health and Social Care for many many years if you take into account all the medical breakthroughs and the cost of all that new medication. Also its why there is so little Mental Health help around. All the stuff we dont pay for at the front of the line has to be paid for somehow. May 2024 is the expected date for the next election.

You may be right but what about all those whose income is derived from either investments or rents? Neither group will be paying NIC on those sources of income.

I've said elsewhere that people who play the stock market have tax free (and NIC free) allowances of £24870 (PA and CGT) . Gains above the threshold of £12,300 are taxed at 10% - less than the basic rate of income tax.

Is this fair?

I notice disabled people and their carers are forgotten about again. I agree more people will be pushed into poverty. Living with a disability when you're struggling to make ends meet is an added burden.

Covid costs - yes but in addition there is the huge Brexit. That was promised to save us ££££s but is costing us waaaay more - but that was self inflicted so we daren't mention it.