Forum Topic

Rishi Sunak

When even the markets are agreeing'the boy done good'  scant praise on the forum  I wonder why?

Barbara Shillabeer ● 1856d46 Comments

Totally agree Sue that its unprecedented times etc but we were promised that we would build back better/greener. It makes no sense to effectively lower taxes on petrol and increase it on electric cars. If we need to raise more taxes for example, why get rid of the air passenger tax on internal flights?It's just madness.

Matt Palmer ● 1841d

"...and now they have cut the £3,000 grant for new electric cars to £2,500"I think this just shows a lack of imagination on the government's part. Although called a grant it is actually I guess just deducted from the VAT if a private car.It would have been better to keep the grant or perhaps removed the vat altogether and increase the cost of charging. Charging costs are low so I think there should be plenty of room for an increase. This should be the case for all green products and insulation. Vat removed and a small levy put on electricity so the overall taxation is neutral.

Ed Robinson ● 1841d

Of course we have to be realistic, but how realistic is it, for example, to spaff billions up the wall on an expanded nuclear "deterrent" that we can never actually use? Governing is all about priorities, and the government has clearly got them very wrong in looking at the threats we face.

Richard Carter ● 1841d

That is disappointing but we have to be realistic Matt.  The Govt / Sunak have spent an unprecedented amount of money during the pandemic and it hasn't finished yet.  Taxes will have to be raised and fiscal cuts in all departments will have to be made.  It's going to be payback time and it will continue for many years to come.

Sue Hammond ● 1841d

...and now they have cut the £3,000 grant for new electric cars to £2,500.Whilst keeping fuel duties at the same level for 11 years.I despair

Matt Palmer ● 1841d

The spending cuts that are buried in the chancellor’s budget are even larger than first thought and could lead to a “second, sharp dose of austerity”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).After studying the details of Rishi Sunak’s plans, the IFS said: “Most likely these figures are simply unrealistic, and borrowing or taxes will be higher than planned.“If they are adhered to then many public services are due a second, sharp dose of austerity,” it added.

Matt Palmer ● 1841d

Exactly.

Matt Palmer ● 1843d

I'm neither sad nor miserable, but I am angry that the government is so utterly unconcerned about the future of the planet that we are leaving to our grandchildren and subsequent generations. Try looking beyond the end of your nose, Barbara.

Richard Carter ● 1843d

Goodness me.  What a sad and miserable person you are to see no good in anything at all.  You must be so angry all the time. What a waste of emotions.  try thinking of all the people who have benefited from his help.There are actually one or two

Barbara Shillabeer ● 1843d

Barbara Shillabeer started this thread by parroting the claim that 'the boy done good' and wondering why Sunak received scant praise on this forum. Well, you can see now why this was: it all added up to bad news on the climate emergency:* he refused to increase fuel duty; it hasn't been increased since 2010;* his new 'super-deduction' scheme to incentivise business investment has no green conditions;* he will increase income and corporation taxes instead of switching tax to polluting activities; In addition, these these taxes were not changed when, if we are to achieve the targeted greenhouse gas reductions, they must be changed:* air passenger duty on internal flights will be halved - and a flight from London to Edinburgh emits eight times as much CO2 as the train;* aviation fuel remains untaxed;* the VAT on has heating is charged at half rate;* the full rate is charged on retro-fitting electric heat pumps;* beef remain subsidised;* we continue to subsidise fossil fuels abroadand so on and so on.So, a massive opportunity missed to tackle the very serious climate emergency. No, he definitely hasn't 'done good' in this feeble budget.

Richard Carter ● 1843d

Also, even the Daily Mail is reporting that the paltry amount Amazon pays in corporation tax could be wiped out by Sunak’s new ‘super deduction’ corporation tax relief rackethttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9327943/Rishi-Sunaks-super-deduction-let-Amazon-wipe-corporation-tax-bill-campaigners-warn.html

Richard Carter ● 1854d

I'm disappointed. If he's serious about levelling up surely he could do something about non-domiciled tax status. He's tight lipped about his wife's status ( she would qualify) & and his mate Degorce. As for Freeports -Catherine Barnard has written a good piece for  ukandeu.ac.uk  on why firms will relocate rather than create jobs - high net worth individuals set to benefit though.

Lynne McNulty ● 1854d

Richard. One wonders what next door's cat recommends about it? I hope it's notthge same attributes that Felicity recommends aboutthge Metro ....I did quite like reading the FT online in the days when I could take advantage of a corporate subscription but I'm happy with the range of new feeds I currently have - and given that my cheap radio controlled Timex watch keeps e cellent time I can live without mega expensive watches that attract muggers 🙂I am very concerned that one of my key sources of informatio, the New Scientist, seems to have fallen into the clutches of the Daily Mail's owner. Should I expect to soon be reading "Higgs Boson attacked Dark Matter's WIMPs" or "Vaccines - get your 6G gateway to Windows 11"? Or even "Dark Data; EUs GDPR II hides your PII from even you!"

Michael Ixer ● 1855d

You are quite right Michael - I must have been confusing it with where the money comes from :)

Ed Robinson ● 1855d

I strongly recommend the FT Weekend Edition: the print version costs under  £15 a month and has not only very good news coverage but excellent book reviews and a superb magazine, one of the best I've read (it has columnists like Simon Kuper and really comprehensive articles). It also has the ridiculous How To Spend It supplement, the most recent one of which listed a watch at £130,000!What's more, next door's cat recommends it...

Richard Carter ● 1855d

And from the "Grauniad" itself 🙂https://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/scott-trust-updates-structure

Michael Ixer ● 1855d

Ed. The Guardian and Observer are, as far as I knoiw, the only truly independent papers being owned now by the Scott Trust Ltd. This was originally an actual trust but converted into a Ltd company in 2008,. There seems to be an associated Scott Trust Endowment Fund but I'm not too sure how that fits into the company's financial structure. It dikes have can US paper but certainly isn't US owned!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Trust_Limited

Michael Ixer ● 1855d

The FT is now Japanese owned but very good still - the only paper I would buy or pick up for free.The Independent we discussed another thread.The Guardian is a USA organisation from memory.The so called British Press as we knew it no longer exists! You are all living in the past :)

Ed Robinson ● 1855d

Lucille,I wholeheartedly agree with you about the NHS staff - unforgivable!!  I was so cross about this!Richard,I did not watch BoJo yesterday because I really cannot stand his responses really.  I'll try to watch PMQs on BBCiPlayer...

Ivonne Holliday ● 1855d

Agreed - and, even worse, nothing on the disgraceful halving of aid to Yemen in the midst of the appalling famine there. And Johnson's performance at PMQs yesterday was even worse (www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000sxdw via @bbciplayer), defending arms sales to Saudi Arabia whilst excusing the aid cuts with the risible explanation that it was due to the current "straitened circumstances" - when we are the sixth richest economy in the world!  Global Britain? This is Little Britain at its very worst.

Richard Carter ● 1855d

We subscribe to the FT Weekend edition, and if we happen to be away our next door neighbours take it in, much to the delight of their cat:

Richard Carter ● 1855d

I'd be more concerned about the "views" that the poor newspapers get of Gertie and Felicity.

David Ainsworth ● 1855d

Good for Felicity. A well read cat. Must buy a newspaper for Gertie then they can compare views 🐱

Lucille Grant ● 1855d

Haven't read all the posts but am surprised that Rishi fans are not appalled that he has ignored the NHS in not raising their wages while dishing out largesse to help business owners.

Lucille Grant ● 1855d

Ivonne. You mentioned the Telegraph, which is also missing. I think the Telegraph doesn't release details of its paper copy circulation.

Michael Ixer ● 1855d

I agree Michael.Did I mention the Independent?  I meant to say the Telegraph....

Ivonne Holliday ● 1855d

And I was talking about their online editions, free or paid for.

David Ainsworth ● 1855d

Those circulation tables (presumably based on paper copies) seem meaningless these days. Most of us now obtain our news online. I'd note your statement about the Independent being down the list is erroneous; it isn't on the list because it's only available online! (It's not to be confused withthge "i".) The Times, Telegraph, and FT are behind paywalls so I suspect that limits their online readership. Although the Guardian is "free" many subscribe to it to ensure a balance of reporting. The Metro, top of the paper copy circulation lists, is free at stations. One wonders how many really get read? We pick the Metro up, the Evening Standard as well, because Felicity likes to have some reading material under her cat tray when she's using it.

Michael Ixer ● 1855d

Well Sue, we all know that higher circulation does not mean quality in the slightest!The Sun (quality tabloid??) has an enormous circulation, higher than the Daily Mail...  According to the Wikipedia article you mentioned, out of the top 8 publications indicated, 6 happen to be tabloids....  It is quite something that the Daily Telegraph is not even mentioned.  I wonder why?

Ivonne Holliday ● 1855d

@David"The Independent and The Guardian tell us what to think for free."Yet they still remain consistently low in ratings and in the newspaper league table.  Free rarely equates to quality.From Wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation

Sue Hammond ● 1855d

Definitely not Matt. Very unimaginative IMO.The budget just highlights what rubbish policies we had since 2010!If Labour doesn't get some policies - preferably progressive out soon I can see them a them losing support to the Greens and even the Lib Dems rising from the dead!

Ed Robinson ● 1856d

No rise in fuel duty for the 11th year running.Not so green then.

Matt Palmer ● 1856d

"The opposition doesn't seem to have much of a response at the moment"Saying Corporation Tax is austerity is just plain nonsense.I guess the opposition are after big business - the other explanations are far worse.I think the government made their view clear on healthcare workers when it gave them tax free clapping!

Ed Robinson ● 1856d

I agree Ed. Firstly, he devil is in the detail published after the speech, secondly, there's a lot missing - particularly around climate change and effects of Brexit (whether good or bad) plus no bonuses for stressed healthcare workers - that he could set the scene for in future years if not now then, thirdly, it's true anything could be modified in subsequent budgets. The opposition doesn't seem to have much of a response at the moment. Even if one disagrees with his ideology Sunak is more confidence inspiring that the rest of the cabinet (an opponent one can disagree with but respect?) but its too early to assess where were heading - the pandemic's not over yet, and the government's obviously unclear of the impact of Brexit.

Michael Ixer ● 1856d

"a budget that's praised on the day turns out later to be a turkey"That is has certainly been true previously Richard.I stopped paying attention until the detail comes out. Since Gordon Brown you really have to read the fine print.The other thing Chancellors have done previously is to announce things for future years that never happen while also announcing short term solutions that never go away.On the left/right comments the opposition have been very poor on the Corporation tax issue!These are the things I was looking for which neither are offering which I see as neither left nor right:Business Rates exempt for businesses below a certain Sq foot - to allow for small shops and micro start-ups.No Vat on insulation - to help emissions and small business.No Vat on Bicycles and personal e-Bikes/e-Scooter that meet the UK standard (obviously a new UK standard will be needed).No Vat on Gyms and Leisure Centre membership provided they use 100 percent green energy.No Vat on Solar and other renewable energy devices.I'm sure people can probably think of lots of good ideas.

Ed Robinson ● 1856d

Well, Mr Sunak said today’s announcements bring the government’s total coronavirus spending to £407bn, and that ‘huge challenges’ lie ahead to address record levels of borrowing.Not a peep on Brexit costs....  The tax personal allowance will rise from £12,500 to £12,570 next year. Then it will stay at that rate for five years. Similarly, the threshold at which you would pay the higher tax rate will rise from £50,000 to £50,270, where it will also be frozen.  Wow!!!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1856d

Well, The Times and The Telegraph do make it rather more difficult for us to form a right or Right opinion. The Independent and The Guardian tell us what to think for free.

David Ainsworth ● 1856d

I guess some of our resident critics need to wait for the Guardian to tell them what to think...

Adam Tripp ● 1856d

I think the scant praise relates to the fact that most of the speech was leaked before hand so nothing outstandingly new, let alone surprising.

Ivonne Holliday ● 1856d

Barbara, it's generally accepted wisdom that a budget that's praised on the day turns out later to be a turkey, and vice versa. So comments this early would seem to be a waste of time.

Richard Carter ● 1856d

It was all rather predictable - I was did discussing with a financial planner yesterday and my view was it would be a give away today with the bleaker news for the future; think I was close? Although it was easy as a loot had already been released. The markets don't like surprises so theyshouild be happy; I heard some self employed people being interviewed and they weren't happy as it still doesn't help some of them in any way.Interesting that there was no mention of the Brexit effect - good or bad; shouldn't he be selling how great it would be for the economy during the coming news? Worrying that government has just slipped out that it's breaching the NI Brexit  deal and extending the grace period for adapting to new rules while we're all distracted by money affairs and fishy stuff in Edinburgh. So it was a bad deal! 

Michael Ixer ● 1856d

"No comment either re Guardian IRA man!!"Thanks for that. I had missed that one. I imagine that such an anti-violence forum as this one will be shocked to its very core.

David Ainsworth ● 1856d

I missed you-know-who calling Sunak or Boris a buffoon. Where was that?Oh:-28/10/15 11:18:00Sue Hammond:-"It is imperative that a judicial review or some kind of appeal is initiated to challenge this calamitous over-rule by Johnson.  At the very least it could act as a delaying tactic until that buffoon's term of Mayor ends in May 2016 and a new person is elected." 25/07/19 16:49:00Sue Hammond:-"Boris is multilingual, speaking Latin, French and Italian fluently, with passable German and Spanish. He also taught Latin when in Australia during his gap year. Not bad..for a so-called buffoon" 28/04/20 12:05:00Sue Hammond:-"However, I have read many posts on here calling Farage a racist, Boris a buffoon and far worse said about Trump, so are they all personal comments too?" 06/05/20 11:58:00Sue Hammond:-"A few helpful tips (for you) to be made welcome on this forum, in no particular order.Slag off Boris ~ use the words buffoon, immoral and adulterer as much as possible"

David Ainsworth ● 1856d

No comment either re Guardian  IRA  man !!

Barbara Shillabeer ● 1856d

Barbara you should know by now that this is a leftie forum and they wouldn't praise anything the Tories did.  Boris could discover a cure for cancer and he would still be called a buffoon by you-know-who.🙄

Sue Hammond ● 1856d

"When even the markets are agreeing'the boy done good'  scant praise on the forum  I wonder why?"No mention of anything at all on the Forum today, except for a tin man from 1928, so why should there be any adulation for Sunak or any opprobrium? No mention of cuts in aid to Yemen either.Scant = barely sufficient or adequate.

David Ainsworth ● 1856d