Re: The budget
 

Bit of a movement towards mutuals at the moment. Nationwide Building Society is buying stock-exchange-listed Virgin Money and Coventry Building Society is in exclusive talks to acquire the Co-operative Bank from its private equity owners.

Re: The budget
 

Re: The budget
 

The alternative to the failed privatisations that, at best, haven’t created genuinely competitive markets and at worst require further public subsidy in any case isn’t “communism”.

It’s a “red” herring.

Re: The budget
 

The budget went down well then....

Re: The budget
 

I am 81 and the budget will not help.
All of the PMs shouild try living solely on a state pension

Re: The budget
 

Re: The budget
 

Yes in Winnersh

Re: The budget
 

I doubt it made much difference either way.

Re: The budget
 

It was rubbish

Re: The budget
 

Given that the intention was to ' buy votes', then that's a failure.

Re: The budget
 

I’d be interested to see underlying data to the polls. Are they not moving full stop or is there movement in there with no overall change?

A 4% cut in “tax” for working people but not pensioners should, in normal times, move some dials. However perhaps this lot so incompetent they’ve lost everyone that’d be motivated by such things already and their vote is really at the floor of true believers, people who hate “socialism” and those that don’t understand economics.

Abolishing NI and recouping that revenue from income tax or VAT would be quite a move against the interests of traditional Tory voters.

Re: The budget
 

Re: The budget
 

I don't think this budget deserved to change the polling.

People aren't daft. Those of us who have benefitted from the 4% NI cuts this year know that, however welcome it is to household finances, it's an election bribe. In 2015 or 2017 it could have worked, but people know this is a desperate measure from a government that no longer has the goodwill of the general public to make such a pre-election giveaway work.

Only 12 months ago we were being told that NI cuts were unaffordable. Well the economy must be going great guns now if suddenly we can afford a 4% cut...

Instead of short term sticking plasters, what we need is a truly radical long term plan for growth over the next 50 years, along with the investment to support that.

Re: The budget
 

Politicians are only interested in the next 5 years , and then only in the last year having filled their boots in the first 4 years.

People are daft, to put it politely, when it comes to voting. They vote on whether the leader is a bit of a laugh/ has charisma (hence Boris), or how the self interested media tell them to. A benevolent dictatorship might be better all round. A least there's a bit of stability/ long term planning ;)

Re: The budget
 

A ≠ B

How does increasing someone’s Council Tax on a Second Home become taking the Second Home away from them?