It can’t have come as a massive surprise to many that, as coronavirus surges once again, the chancellor has cancelled the autumn budget. With so much uncertainty around the state of the country’s finances, the logic goes, now would not be a good time to make tax changes.
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In a week’s time, the government will unveil its first budget. It will be keen to deliver on the big spending promises pledged in the Conservative manifesto, particularly in the newly won northern constituencies. The manifesto also promised to prioritise the environment. Read more
This post is by Colin Hines, convenor of the UK Green New Deal Group.
Shaun Spiers correctly cites the concerns felt by many in industry about the effects of chancellor Sajid Javid recent assertion in the Financial Times that the UK will no longer be aligned with EU rules, or in the single market or customs union. Read more
In British politics, governing is as much performance art as it is accounting. Even ‘Fiscal Phil’, that most studious scrutiniser of the spreadsheet knows this. Perhaps this is why his green headlines ahead of the budget were about a single use plastics tax, a clampdown on dirty diesels and a push on EVs. These followed a green October, with Michael Gove ditching neonicotinoids and consulting on a bottle deposit scheme, and Claire Perry producing a Clean Growth Strategy that sees huge opportunities too irresistible for a business department to ignore. But the big reveal on budget day showed that, as far as the Treasury is concerned, the future is still grey.
The chancellor described his budget as taking bold decisions to “act now so we don’t pay later.” Osborne announced £730 million of funding for “less established” renewables and endorsed storage, demand response and interconnection. Half an hour before the Budget, the prime minister had said the UK would cut power sector emissions by 85 per cent by 2030, which is consistent with the Committee on Climate Change’s fifth carbon budget. Read more
This post by Federica Cocco first appeared on Full Fact on March 4th 2013.
In today’s politics roundup, the Sun reports that three quarters of the British public are concerned about one big national issue. If you think it’s the economy or crime, think again. It’s fuel prices.
The source is a poll conducted by an organisation which campaigns to – you guessed it – cut fuel costs. Ahead of the March 20th Budget, Fair Fuel UK ran an internet survey on their website in a move to “send a clear message to the Chancellor” that fuel duty should be cut “for the sake of the UK economy”. Read more
