Budget briefing: the key questions answered by Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar
Source: The Guardian ·
Our economics and political editors dissect John Healey’s maiden budgetThe Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, and political editor, Pippa Crerar, assess the chancellor’s budget: what he said, why – and what he left out. Continue reading...
From the source
The Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, and political editor, Pippa Crerar, assess the chancellor’s budget: what he said, why – and what he left out. Did the chancellor’s budget panic the financial markets? Not at all. Reassuring febrile financial markets appeared to be one of Andy Burnham’s motivations in putting Healey in No 11, and this ‘steady-as-she-goes’ budget seems to have met that brief, for now. The chancellor promised to keep Labour’s deficit-reduction plans on track, albeit at a slower pace in the early years of the forecast – raising taxes modestly to do so. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) now expects him to meet his crucial first fiscal rule – to balance day-to-day spending with revenues – with a margin of £15bn to spare. That’s a slimmer cushion than the £24bn Rachel Reeves had at the spring statement, but investors appear to have taken it in their stride, with barely a flutter in the bond markets. Healey stressed that he plans to rebuild his…