[mattomac]

Better than giving a tax freebie to people who can shove 20k in an ISA every year.

[soulboy]

Red Tory bastards.

Be interesting to see the budgeting for this. Do they see the new structure saving money? Probably a bit early for that, though it would be nice if they could show some improvement like this. Or is it paid for by less investment? Which would be less positive.

I look forward to the utter meltdown if the rail fare freeze is funded by at least a partial restoration of fuel duty to pre-2022 levels.

WAR ON TEH MOTORIST!!!1!one!

[Tubby Isaacs]

Better than giving a tax freebie to people who can shove 20k in an ISA every year.

Reeves made a suggestion of changing it so that the full amount applied to stocks only, and Martin Money opposed it. So all hell will break loose if this in the budget. Apparently people want pro-growth reforms, which this probably would be, but not like that.

I may have said this before, about a hundred times, but very small village primary schools mostly for the kids of very well off people seem to escape the annual round of efficiency savings. (In fairness to Reeves, that's councils, not her)

[Tubby Isaacs]

Warren is keeping it positive. I keep hearing that the Government came in without any plans, having "had 14 years" to have all sorts of stuff ready to go. But you can't really have something like this sorted from opposition, and I think that's true of lots of stuff.

It's not really feasible for the Opposition to have the equivalent of the Civil Service on hand, and even if you did, how would you get the experts you need to contribute? There's lots of stuff happening on reducing infrastructure costs, which every says they want, but all they get in return is "war on nature", "corporate lobbying".

[The Weeping Angel]

I don't exactly recall people saying the Tories had 13 years to prepare for government back in the early 2010s.

[Tubby Isaacs]

No, that was all "situation deteriorating by the second, act now, or be like Greece".

[mattomac]

Well there is a whole library on how Labour's red wall is crumbling and never again will they win seats in certain areas

[mattomac]

Warren is keeping it positive. I keep hearing that the Government came in without any plans, having "had 14 years" to have all sorts of stuff ready to go. But you can't really have something like this sorted from opposition, and I think that's true of lots of stuff.

It's not really feasible for the Opposition to have the equivalent of the Civil Service on hand, and even if you did, how would you get the experts you need to contribute? There's lots of stuff happening on reducing infrastructure costs, which every says they want, but all they get in return is "war on nature", "corporate lobbying".

I don't mind Warren, Labour should give him a job its the only person who I see ever write anything positive about them.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I like him too. Warren may be the sole reason I mostly approve of the government. If I depended on the supposed progressive media and pressure groups, I'd be thinking "well, better than the Tory cuts, but...". A particular bugbear of mine is the tendency to get a load of people with their own particular areas in to comment. These people invariably claim the budget is a "missed opportunity to deal with the real issues", at the very best. Usually it's "this will decimate my sector which needs certainty".

I'll make a prediction that such a "panel" gets put together tomorrow. I will react with the same disdain as now. Unless there's someone talking about capital investment in Wales, who will almost certainly be right that the budget is a missed opportunity, even if I wish it weren't.