The Budget..

[DulwichFox]

So the Chancellor is taking 2p off the price of a pint. When does that ever make any difference.

When they add 2p on a pint it goes up 10p in the pub.

DulwichFox

[Dopamine1979]

Just think about the savings over a year though. I reckon at least ?1000.

[Mick Mac]

Pretty good budget. Helpful on savings and pensions.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/budget-2015-some-of-the-things-weve-announced

[right-clicking]

This nonsense with the tax threshold making "Hard Working Families" better off is a complete bollox! If you are unfortunate enough to be on the lower pay-scale and in receipt of any sort of benefit (working tax, housing etc) All of these are means tested. So having an extra ?300 taken off the base means that the same amount will be taken off your benefits, Net Result = ?0 in your earnings!! This also applies to any overtime!!

I currently receive ?60 a week in H/B I would have to work the 1st 6 hours overtime (@ ?10ph) without in any increase to my pay-packet. Without a raise from the company my pay will never get any better

Great innit?

[MrBen]

Awful, boring non event of a budget that like so many makes headlines on the day and some political currency....but which makes sod all difference to most of us in the grand scheme of things.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Further money funneled into inflating the housing market and making it easier for first time buyers to mortgage themselves up to the hilt. Isn't this what led to the credit crunch and the global recession in the first place? I think the Tories have spent so long saying that the recession was all down to Labour spending too much, that they're starting to believe it. What happened to re-balancing the economy?

[Louisa]

Welcome to Boom and Bust.

Opening hours - 24/7 for the next 5 years.

Or you can visit our website www.upshitcreek.co.uk/immigratewhileyoucan

Louisa.

[david_carnell]

I think you mean emmigrate....

Although more immigrants would help....boost that income tax take.

[JohnL]

Not much happening in that budget.

Best comment yesterday was 'If you can't stand the heat get out of your second kitchen'

and that was PMQs

[Louisa]

Frightening prospect post may, the budget is the calm before the storm. No workable majority is clear from current polling projections. Even the Lab/SNP pact would be half a dozen short, and the Libs refuse to work with SNP/UKIP on any level.

Louisa.

[Otta]

right-clicking Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This nonsense with the tax threshold making "Hard

> Working Families" better off is a complete bollox!

> If you are unfortunate enough to

> be on the lower pay-scale and in receipt of any

> sort of benefit (working tax, housing etc) All of

> these are means tested. So having an extra ?300

> taken off the base means that the same amount will

> be taken off your benefits, Net Result = ?0 in

> your earnings!! This also applies to any

> overtime!!

> I currently receive ?60 a week in H/B I would have

> to work the 1st 6 hours overtime (@ ?10ph) without

> in any increase to my pay-packet. Without a raise

> from the company my pay will never get any better

>

> Great innit?

As has been pointed out to me elsewhere, means tested benefits wouldn't be affected. Changing the tax threshold doesn't change your gross pay, and the means testing is based on that, so you'd continue to get the same benefits. Meanwhile your net pay should creep up a little bit with the increase in threshold.

[JohnL]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Frightening prospect post may, the budget is the

> calm before the storm. No workable majority is

> clear from current polling projections. Even the

> Lab/SNP pact would be half a dozen short, and the

> Libs refuse to work with SNP/UKIP on any level.

>

> Louisa.

Plaid Cymru have about 3 :)

[Mick Mac]

I thought his band of brothers jibe to Ed Milliband was first class.

But his proposed change to the IHT deeds of variation - that was personal too - and a bit dangerous to change a tax law that a leader of the opposition has relied upon just to get one over on him in the budget speech - power should not be abused.

[Louisa]

JohnL Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Plaid Cymru have about 3 :)

God can you imagine the stick Milliband would get if he went into an informal agreement with not just one but TWO nationalist parties? I guess he's always got that solitary Green MP for support.

Louisa.

[PeckhamRose]

I thought the idea of basically doing your self employed accounts and uploading them to HMRC every month - that is a bit scary.

[Blah Blah]

I agree Otta. But I don't think people are fooled. Cameron can talk about 1.8 million new jobs as much as he likes (and never mention the jobs lost through cuts). He can also talk about a fast recovering economy all he likes. But the fact remains that too many people are finding it harder to make ends meet. The young are especially disillusioned. Either he deliberately ignores the reality or genuinely can't see what the problem is. Either way makes him unfit to govern imo.

I can see the sense in that though PeckhamRose. Don't most people do their accounts monthly anyway?

[david_carnell]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> JohnL Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> >

> > Plaid Cymru have about 3 :)

>

> God can you imagine the stick Milliband would get

> if he went into an informal agreement with not

> just one but TWO nationalist parties? I guess he's

> always got that solitary Green MP for support.

>

> Louisa.

Yes heaven forbid we should have a government representing ALL of the UK rather than a Tory government with about 3 MPs outside of England.

[Blah Blah]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> As has been pointed out to me elsewhere, means

> tested benefits wouldn't be affected. Changing the

> tax threshold doesn't change your gross pay, and

> the means testing is based on that, so you'd

> continue to get the same benefits. Meanwhile your

> net pay should creep up a little bit with the

> increase in threshold.

Personally I'd prefer it if employeers paid living wages so that we didn't have to subsidise the crap jobs they provide.

I'd also prefer to see something done about slowing house price inflation, rather than fuelling it ith yet more tax payers money.

And as for the benefits to savers? Interest rates couldn't be much lower.

Typical pre-election budget. Is anybody really fooled by it?

[Otta]

Blah Blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Personally I'd prefer it if employeers paid living

> wages so that we didn't have to subsidise the crap

> jobs they provide.

So would I, but for this government it's more important to say that unemployment levels are low, rather than acknowledging that a lot of the jobs are barely worth having.

[Mick Mac]

Sorry David, to cover the UK you would need to be in coalition with 3 nationalist parties.

[Louisa]

david_carnell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Yes heaven forbid we should have a government

> representing ALL of the UK rather than a Tory

> government with about 3 MPs outside of England.

As MM suggests, one of the NI parties would need to be involved. England is the largest constituent country of the UK and will probably vote Tory by 2/3 points ahead of Labour based on current projections. Scotland will vote overwhelmingly SNP and Wales Labour. However you look at it from a regional perspective, someone is going to come off the loser unless we have some sort of unity coalition between the two main parties which isn't out of the question.

Louisa.

[david_carnell]

Swathes of England vote Labour.

Barely anyone votes Tory in Scotland or Wales.

Therefore a coalition of Labour/SNP/PC would be the most representative of the UK.

[Louisa]

Yes swathes of England vote Labour, but my point is if you look at the popular vote the Tories will win England overall by a couple of percentage points ahead of Labour meaning they will more than likely be the largest party in England. With England being the largest constituent part of the UK as a whole, how would it be democratic to have the majority voting for a pro- unionist party in the largest section of the country and the effective losing second main party forming a coalition with two separatist parties to represent the whole of the country, when the largest part has voted for a different party. Makes even less sense than this coalition government we've had to put up with for the last five years. The only way to fix this problem is to adopt a more proportional and therefore representative voting system. First past the post has had its day in what has become a fractured multi party system.

Louisa.

[Mick Mac]

david_carnell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Swathes of England vote Labour.

>

> Barely anyone votes Tory in Scotland or Wales.

>

> Therefore a coalition of Labour/SNP/PC would be

> the most representative of the UK.

I think you know i mean Northern Ireland David.

[david_carnell]

Well I'm sure that coalition would be happy to work with the SDLP!