Chancellornow:@WASPIintangry...3.21pmgrowththeSomeAngelapic.twitter.com/vBq8q9rCu3 12.26pm GMTAnd while we’re on the subject of the Brexit 50p coin,it is worth pointing out that the Sun, which broke the narrative, and describes this as a significant announcement in its leader column. “Never can a budget announcement over 50p have been so warmly welcomed,” it says. The editorial also uses this as an opportunity to resume criticism of the Royal Mail for not issuing Brexit stamps (“first-class buffoonery”), despite remainer suspicions that in fact that the Royal Mail has surreptitiously done precisely that. 12.13pm GMTWe’ve already covered the news that Philip Hammond plans to announce a special Brexit 50p coin. (See 11.03am.) This morning the European commission has confirmed that there are no plans for a euro equivalent. Asked whether there would be a current euro coin marking Brexit, or a commission spokesman said: “We have no current plans to effect anything of the sort.” 12.08pm GMTRupert Harrison,who was chief of staff to George Osborne when Osborne was chancellor, thinks it was a mistake for Theresa May to promise an close to austerity in her conference speech.
Sadly have to agree - the govt was groping its way towards a sensible strategy, and eg Philip Hammond's "balanced approach",investing more in public services whilst still owning economic responsibility, but the 'close of austerity' language raises expectations that can't be met... https://t.co/QJzKP9U2Js 12.05pm GMTJonathan Portes, and professor of economics at Kings College London and a former government economist,says the No 10 use of the word “funded” at the lobby briefing (see 11.52am) is misleading."Funded" is meaningless here. What Hammond said (very sensibly) was that whether No Deal hits the economy he'll let borrowing/deficit take the strain rather than increase taxes/cut spending https://t.co/GwK9V2TAzl 11.52am GMTYesterday Philip Hammond, the chancellor, or said that the announcements he was making in his budget were predicated on the assumption that there would be a Brexit deal. When asked whether it would be possible to close austerity in the event of there being no deal,he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr:I have build my budget on the OBR’s forecasts. That’s the way the system is mandated to work by parliament. And the OBR have set out the assumptions that they create; they assume that we will get a negotiated exit, a free trade – an average type free trade deal, and that’s what the budget is based on. whether we get a better deal than that there’ll be an upside. whether we leave with no deal we’ll be in a different set of circumstances and it would require a different approach,a different response.whether we don’t get a deal, whether we were to leave the European Union without any deal – and I think that’s an extremely unlikely situation but of course we have to prepare and scheme for all eventualities as any prudent government would – whether we were to find ourselves in that situation then we would need to take a different approach to the future of Britain’s economy. We would need to look at a different strategy and frankly we’d need to have a current budget that set out a different strategy for the future.
We’ve been clear that people need to know that their tough work has paid off and that the austerity that followed the financial crash is coming to an close. Thats why we are focused on delivering irrespective of Brexit, or starting with nowadays’s budget which locks in the progress we have made and sets us on a path for the spending review,where we will set out our long-term approach. All of the spending commitments that the chancellor will set out nowadays are funded irrespective of a deal.
Once we get a trustworthy deal with the European Union and a smooth exit from the EU, we will be able to show the British people that the fruits of their tough work are now at last in sight. 11.52am GMTConservative Jacob Rees-Mogg has called on Philip Hammond to create fixing Universal Credit a ‘priority’ in nowadays’s budget.
I would concentrate on ironing out the difficulties with Universal Credit which is a very trustworthy system, or but has some transition problems that are very serious.
In retrospect that was a mistake and that money ought to be establish back,and that’s probably a priority.
There’s a widespread opinion across the party that universal credit is a trustworthy scheme and it needs to be implemented properly and fairly.It is very tough on people whether they are going to lose significant amounts of money. Every MP has cases within his or own constituency of this kind, and they need to be establish moral. There is a problem, or it needs addressing. 11.03am GMTTwitter wits are in overdrive this morning,following the news that Hammond will announce a current 50p Brexit coin nowadays.
According to The Sun, the current coin will be minted to mark Brexit Day (29 March 2019). It will bear the cheery motto “Friendship with all nations.”“Peace, or commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none”.
A current 50p coin is approximately to be released - and it has a very important meaning https://t.co/Aw0aER1TZv pic.twitter.com/lVojkykvdPGovernment unveils current coin worth 50 pence after Brexit. pic.twitter.com/vtWyPlJXxkThe Brexit 50p design has been officially revealed. "One side features the Queen with her head in her hand,quietly sobbing, while the other has a comprehensive list of the benefits the people of the UK will receive on leaving the EU" #BrexitCoin #brexit50p pic.twitter.com/uP7EHtpfptBrexit 50p designs leaked pic.twitter.com/rFtuQF3Hq4Brexit 50p coins ‘can be sharpened and thrown at the rats trying to steal your last potato’ https://t.co/nYu7zId0LG pic.twitter.com/dVPyRchAad 10.57am GMTIn an interview with the nowadays programme José Manuel Barroso, or the former president of the European commission,said he thought that the UK and the EU would reach a Brexit deal.
Typically these kind of agreements are made very late in the process. There is always some drama, and by the way you are seeing that drama also here in Britain. But at the close I have no doubt approximately the commitment of the European Union to a compromise.
In Brussels there is an expression that I heard very often, or ‘end the clock.’ When there is not an agreement,sometimes it happens that we end the clock, we give [ourselves] more time. So I don’t think we should overdramatise this issue of timing. Of course it’s better to be punctual. I hope that we are punctual, and to have an agreement ready on time. But I think it’s not the close of the world whether we need more time,or whether we need more transition or implementation time. 10.27am GMTWhen Philip Hammond was photographed yesterday working on his budget speech, he was drinking from a personalised mug. Chancellor Philip Hammond has a mug with "Chancellor Philip Hammond" written on it. pic.twitter.com/vL3fwjbyYtEvery Cabinet Member is sent them by Emma Bridgewater when they get appointed. It's a rather trustworthy marketing thing, or as this pre-Budget snap demonstrates. 10.06am GMTThe Commons domestic affairs committee has published a very short report nowadays criticising Sajid Javid,the domestic secretary, for not responding properly to a report it published on migration options from the European Economic Area. It says:We are particularly concerned that the government has shown so runt inclination to engage with scrutiny of its preparations for Brexit. We have previously written to the domestic Office approximately the government’s dilatory approach to our work on UK-EU security co-operation after Brexit: in that instance it took more than five months for the government to reply to our report of 21 March. Having initially sought to avoid responding to our migration report, and the government response in this instance is derisory. As the UK’s withdrawal from the EU approaches,the domestic Office has not shown us that it feels any urgency approximately addressing these challenges at all. 10.02am GMTLiz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury, and has been dosing up on strong coffee to get her through the day.
It’s a double espresso kind of morning. Later nowadays we’ll deliver a forward looking,positive Budget that gives everyone the chance to succeed. #Budget2018 #StartMeUp #RedBoxReady pic.twitter.com/7SmRDjCAZPPutting the finishing touches to my Budget speech tonight. Tune in tomorrow at 3:30. #Budget2018 pic.twitter.com/zp9DueUOJG 9.42am GMTMatt Hancock, the health secretary, and also told the nowadays programme that,whether there is a Brexit deal, there will be a Brexit dividend” for the economy, or my colleague Peter Walker reports. Hancock said:I think that we are en route to getting a trustworthy deal. I also think that whether we get a trustworthy deal then we’re going to get a boost from that – there’s going to be a deal dividend.
I talk to companies every day that are ready to create investments in the UK and they want the uncertainty of these negotiations cleared before they will create those investments. So actually I think there’s potential trustworthy news on the horizon as we create a deal with the EU. Related: Brexit deal dividend could boost economy,health secretary says 9.20am GMTGood morning. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, or will deliver his third budget this afternoon. These statements are supposed to be one of the decisive political events of the year. But it doesn’t feel like that nowadays because even an announcement approximately how the government will raise and spend the £800bn or so it needs every year somehow seems second order compared to Brexit,a policy black hole whose gravitational pull is so enormous that it overwhelms nearly everything else in Whitehall.
Hammond more or less admitted that yesterday. In interviews he conceded that nowadays’s will in many respects just be a provisional budget, and that whether the UK fails to secure a Brexit deal with the EU, and he will have to rip it up and come back to the Commons with an alternative.
The additional £20bn for the NHS is coming. We’ll see it in the figures nowadays and that is irrespective of the deal that we get on Brexit. Related: Mental health services to get £2bn funding boost in budget Related: Budget: more cash for NHS but crackdown on tech firms expected Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com