Will John Healey’s ‘breathing space’ budget deliver what Britain needs? Our panel responds | Panel
Source: The Guardian ·
Amid global economic storms, the new chancellor has promised to steer the course – with promises of more help to come. Will it be enough? Continue reading...
From the source
‘Growth in every postcode’? Not yet, but hope at last First, he did no harm. Then he scattered sprinkles of feel-goods. He told the truth about the state we’re in, deep in an extra £14bn of expensive debt , and, though he put it politely, at the mercy of the monster in the White House’s whims on Iran and tariffs. The losers were popular targets: the banks and gambling companies. But plainly bank threats to decamp partly paid off. Their shares leapt up on the news that their surcharge would rise to only 6%, not its original 8% before Tory reductions. They expected to pay more, and indeed they should. Gambling company shares jumped up too, with Rank up more than 10% on the day when the companies were only hit with five percentage points more tax on high-stakes machines, a missed chance, but better than nothing. The Treasury makes £4bn from gambling . Time to ban their advertising next. The chancellor gave a gracious nod to his predecessor. He should be grateful, as she took the pain…