Thursday 28 October 2021

Too depressing to write about the Budget really

 One of the worst budgets in living memory for me, worse than some of the humdingers during 2008/9.

A Tory Chancellor raising taxes painfully in the face of fast growing inflation, splurging money on the NHS and everything else that the left loves. No attempts at any market reforms to try and make the spending more effective. Just full on into the law of diminishing returns. 

Cutting funding for Defence, even as China threatens Taiwan and the world with hypersonic missiles and the French look to start a new 'scallop' war.

Net Zero and green taxes unquestioned and going up. Not long now until only the rich can fly, airlines will clock on soon to doing away with economy class altogether. 

The press reaction is even worse, pravda-levels of happy compliance because money is being created to be spent on 'good stuff.'

Nothing conservative in it at all. A horrid throwback to Brownian labour budgets. 

And they say they want this guy as Prime Minister?!

Well, the welcome it has now will not last out the spring, with inflation rising and incomes falling the Tories will end up well behind in the polls and deservedly so. If we are to have Labour budgets, may as well have a Labour government whilst the Tories can go back to school to remember what they are supposed to stand for. 


18 comments:

Swiss Bob said...

Agree, it was the worst of Gordon Brown and George Osborne, a string of micro announcements (tax cuts for beer, but dependent on keg size etc) yet without any wider strategy. A budget for newspaper headlines this week rather than stewardship of the economy. I'd hoped for better from Sunak.

Also as an ex-accountant I feel for my old colleagues tasked with coping with all these tiny changes. But they're quids in as they win from the endless complexity.

Charlie said...

It's a good job for Boris and Rishi that the oppo are even more useless than the turds who've floated to the top of the Tory party.

That this appalling excuse for a budget gets largely cheered in the papers really does show how far to the left the cretins of New Labour managed to shift the Overton window with their carefully unmanaged immigration policy.

hovis said...

Klaus Swab will be pleased, onwards and upwards.

TBH I am suprised you are suprised.

I have not seen evidence of a functioning democracy and even less of a parliament or fourth estate for well over two years. (It could be argued 2016 was the last gasp of a democratic pulse in this land, certainly on conservatism with a small c.)

Anonymous said...

Don't worry. Boris and Rishi will be out soon to be replaced by Gove and Truss who are the ones making the pitch to the party members/chairmen.

If you want change, you'll have to keep up your membership.

jim said...

Well what would you have done?

I agree this looks like the sort of budget Micawber would have done, chuck around a bit of cash and hope something turns up. But what would 'an effective budget' look like?

We seem to be in a kind of doldrum, no real way to provide energy cleanly and cheaply, electric cars look like a disappointment. No improvement in housing shortage with bad implications for growth. Export numbers look bad as well, not much to laugh at at all.

Perhaps we could start a nice little war with someone and make sure we lose. Anything would be an improvement.

Don Cox said...

We could easily start a war with France, but a bicker seems more likely.

So far as I can see the only thing of any significance in the Budget is the change to the rules for benefits while working, which seems to be a good thing.

Otherwise, we are at a stage when there's really no point in having a budget until we see how things turn out. The government should just stand back and let people get on with things.

Don Cox

E-K said...

Hey. The Blue Team are still ahead in the polls ! YAAAAY !

E-K said...

Tories have been socialists for a long while now.

You'd think a £3000 pa tax rise, inflation, interest rate rises would be enough as it will cause us all to cut back on what we consume and what we do.

Alas, no.

Boris wants us to be the global leaders in the wearing of green hair shirts too.

Why are Insulate Britain allowed to patrol the motorways ?

Because the establishment wants them to and Boris wants to please the establishment.

(I agree totally with your take on the budget btw.)

dearieme said...

"even as China threatens Taiwan": I do hope that Britain's Taiwan policy is "not our problem, chum".

Now get on and sell those stupid aircraft carriers.
And devise a way to do a successful first strike on France.

Anonymous said...

We don't need to attack France, a lovely country which should not be judged by its politicians. We just need to defend our fisheries and defend our coasts from "refugees" fleeing the hell-hole that is the Pas de Calais.

AFAIC (as far as I'm concerned) the French can cut off the power to the Channel Islands if they like, AND shut the interconnector. We drop EDF in exchange and crash-start a thorium power program. I'd like them to force us to do what we should have done anyway.

Boris and Rishi are the epitome of rootless cosmopolitans, so any sensible policies from them are highly unlikely. And Gove is a clever idiot. Know nowt about Truss - is she another Teresa May? Has she got kids i.e. some skin in the game?

Anonymous said...

From 2017

"The election of Emmanuel Macron as the new French president now means that the leaders of the four European countries in the G-7 biggest economies — Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni — are all childless.

Other prominent European leaders also have no children — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Does this mean anything?"

It means we're governed by leaders who don't care what kind of society remains after their death.

Don Cox said...

"Tories have been socialists for a long while now."

Since Harold MacMillan, I suppose.

But if you want to win an election with a large majority in Britain, the best policy is to go for the middle of the road, to the left of traditional Tories and to the right of traditional Labour. Most voters are quite happy with the welfare state, and just want some adjustment for their particular benefit.

Don Cox

Don Cox said...

If "prominent European Leaders have no children", at least they are no longer ruling Britain; and you can hardly accuse Boris of that defect.

Don Cox

andrew said...


@dearieme
And devise a way to do a successful first strike on France.

Easy
Get someone in Paris to compare the best French wines with the best wines from around the world in a blind test with french judges.

E-K said...

Dearieme

Viruses are the way forward henceforth (both computer and biological)

Hypersonic missiles, satellite knock-out systems ... they're all for show, like the high-foreheaded marching mutant Berserkers will be.

Pre-emptive strikes when we don't behave, without us even having the guts to declare nor investigate where they came from.

Our (the West's) reaction to Covid has been nothing less than economically and culturally suicidal. I believe that Putin is playing the same over-reaction game as the Chinese did in Wuhan.

No. We do not treat pandemics (this was a syndemic and could have been dealt with by focused shielding) as though they are wars. Why ? Wars never cease for pandemics, that's why.

The 'whiner' speaks. (the truth.)

E-K said...

"... the way forward henceforth"

Slap on wrist. Grammatically awkward.

Anonymous said...

Does this article shed light on Gov thinking behind the splurge?
https://www.cityam.com/cryptocurrency-revolution-state-institutions/

My interpretation- Gov. is afraid of losing power and autonomy to the crypto world and trying to compete while not fully understanding the reason why crypto arose in the first place.
M.

andrew said...

Another way of looking at it is that the capitalism provided to the uk's citzens for fhe last 20 to 30 years has not worked out that great for many outside the top 20% and most outside the top 50% and so lets try something else.
I am simplifying and parphrasing chris dillow's thoughts there and not necessarily agreeing