What a superb Budget
Dear readers,
Sometimes you really have to take your hat off to a Government and say ‘well done’. During these difficult economic times, it takes real courage to stand up there and deliver a set of policies that will start the long haul back to financial stability, even if it costs them votes in the process. Yesterday was a great example of a Government really taking control and saying what needed to be said, no matter how politically unpalatable it was - and for that they deserve a great deal of respect. The measures announced yesterday will shave £3.6 billion off public spending which, while not solving the debt crisis, demonstrate their commitment to sorting out this mess:
- A 1 billion cut in the public sector pay bill. Public servants will face pay cuts, ranging from 5% on those earning 30,000 to 15% on those earning more than 200,000.
- 760 million cut from social welfare
- 980 million saved from day-to-day spending programmes
- 960 million cut from investment projects.
Child benefit was also reduced slightly while corporation tax was kept on hold.
You simply have to take your hat off to a Government that delivers something as radical and plainly unpopular as this, but for them to acknowledge the scale of the crisis means that the public are far more likely to follow them rather than stand against them. With the public spending deficit currently around 12% of GDP this year and threatening to spiral out of control, drastic action was needed and that’s precisely what we got yesterday. It wasn’t pretty but the message was loud and clear: we are serious about reducing this deficit and we intend to get this country back on track as soon as possible. I say credit where credit is due, and the Government certainly deserve a lot of credit for this and we should be grateful that they are doing whatever they can to return this country to a sound financial footing, and I hope that you will join me in congratulating them on their strong message and determination.
It’s just a shame that this was the Irish Government’s budget, not ours. Unfortunately, Alistair and Gordon have the combined courage of Scooby Doo so we just got a disingenuous pile of crap aimed at winning a couple of extra votes rather than dragging this country out of the worst recession in living memory. Anyone else fancy a change of government?
Yours sincerely,
A.Tory
Whilst I appreciate and agree with the sentiments about Brown/Darling and that cowardly canine – I can’t quite bring myself to admire the Irish Government.
This, after all, is the Government that forced through a second Referendum on the LisbonConTreaty in their country – and as a result we are shackled into the Franco-German Reich otherwise known as the EUSSR. Ireland may be benefitting from that … but we aren’t. We are currently contributing over £3billion a year and that is set to rise to over £7billion next year. Thanks Blair; thanks Brown and thanks Ireland.
Take heart old son, chin up. Another few months and the Heir to Blair and Boy George will be at the helm taking the tough and unpopular decisions that are necessary to get the Country back on course.
Well, that’s one way of looking at things.
Boudicca, I’m no fan of the Irish government in general but at least they have the guts to admit that they’re financially screwed – unlike the morons in 10 and 11 Downing Street.
WFHA, I can only hope you’re right.
Didn’t they cut MP’s salaries too?
What a frightful shower. Glad the current responsible lot are still in here in power here. They knew how to deal with an expenses scandal and get it all under control.
Now, where’s my Telegraph…
What’s going on here? Ireland are not able to borrow endlessly without that impacting on the Euro so they have to cut. The PIGS Portugal Italy Greece and Spain will crash the thing. They are hopeless politically and will not cut spending. The Irish can be bullied to become Germanic. It will take years though to bring their economy down to low borrowing levels.
Brown and Darling still enjoy AAA status for now and can borrow apparently without end. The fact that they ignore reality means the AAA status will be withdrawn, interest rates will rise and the economy will be punished for their profligacy and weakness.
Utterly cynical from Labour. I will admit to expecting more from Darling. He has always struck me as a fundamentally decent guy and a decent Chancellor considering the mess Brown left him with. I’ll put that one down to naivety.
Am I the only one who found Osborne infinitely more impressive in his response yesterday? He appears to be carrying on the rich-vein of form from the Tory conference. And despite my initial concerns over Hammond, his performance on Newsnight was superb. He was smart to avoid arguing with Burns on Keynesian principle, instead sticking to a Friedman-esque approach. Good move, let’s see more of that.
[...] measures were praised by Tory bloggers and politicians and gave a taste of what a future Tory budget might look like. George Osborne has [...]
Bill, they did indeed cut MPs salaries as well, but I thought that if I listed that particular policy then it would give them game away seeing as Brown would never show that much common sense.
Tapestry, I think Ireland is in real trouble but their bitter pill of tax rises and brutal spending cuts is at least sending out the message that they understand the severity of the situation.
GK, Osborne did a good job but I’m fairly certain that there was so much material to make a fool out of Darling that I could have made a decent stab of it.
[wipes coffee from screen]
Superb.
Ireland are in a uniqely horrible situation. They have a common currency with the rest of the EU, but they gain nothing from it as it isn’t worth as much if you spend it in Ireland.
To remedy their awful situation, they have indeed taken some radical measures, and no doubt they have been forced into it to a degree by their inclusion in the Euro project.
Our government has no excuse for their nasty political stunt. We are not in the Euro, we could have formulated monetary policy to prevent asset booms, but Labour thought that would keep the ex Tory voters on board by overstoking the market. Now all they can do is attempt to keep the gravy flowing, put off the pain for someone else to administer.
I heard a union man on the radio yesterday afternoon castgating Labour for not paying more to his public sector workers, saying that they have shot themselves in the foot as it is ‘public sector worker which would normally vote Labour’.
So the cat is out of the bag, the reason we have so many public sector workers is because they ‘vote Labour’. This is a hell of admission, (even though we all knew it anyway).
Labour has tried to keep its client state afloat while playing every political game to trap the opposition. Meanwhile, they have failed to even keep their own army in line – the civil service unions.
Tony E, as I’ve said before on this blog, the public sector are the new miners, if you catch my drift. Labour’s client state is still very much alive – it just has a different job title.
PG, many thanks.
One way ticket to oblivion.
Wonderful post. Well done, LfaT.
[...] Finance, Brian Lenihan, had “again grasped the nettle on the Irish public finances.” Tory bloggers including Guido Fawkes and Iain Dale also lauded the [...]