Tag: Budget

Policy-induced uncertainty

[Originally posted on The Policy Press blog, 24/07/15, under a different title. Reposted here under the original title.] George Osborne’s recent “emergency” budget proposed many changes to state support to lower income households in a bid to fulfil the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge to cut £12bn from welfare spending. […]

Through a glass, darkly

The community of housing bloggers has already offered plenty of comment on the implications of the Chancellor’s “emergency” budget for housing. Comment from almost all quarters – be it Jules, Ken, Joe, Steve, Tom or Gavin – highlights, in more or less lurid terms, the challenges the budget measures […]

Help to Buy?

The objections to George Osborne’s latest wheeze to assist the housing market are hardly worth discussing. They are almost too obvious. And they have been rehearsed at length in relation to similar, smaller scale initiatives that have already been tried. The new “Help to Buy” scheme, announced in […]

Age, ignorance or incompetence?

What a shocking week for the Government. We’re well past the odd mishap. As the Government careers from one problem to another we’re now shading into something rather more embarrassing. With the exception of some über-loyalists with an eye to preferment, excoriating comment is emerging from all points […]

The car crash Coalition and the corrosion of democracy

Is this Government corrupt? It depends on how you define corrupt. If the focus is upon demonstrable criminality then the answer would have to be no. More pertinently, is it corrupting? Recent events should concern anyone who believes that healthy democratic practice is important for a healthy society. […]

Taxing property

Why is there a lot of talk about a mansion tax at the moment? The short, obvious answer is because the budget is imminent. Liberal Democrats have long held the belief that it is better to tax wealth than income. This position was reaffirmed at Spring Conference. A […]