06 March 2024 , 22:34
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A country crying out for change was presented with a hollow Budget from a Government in its death throes.
Jeremy Hunt tried to bribe voters by cutting national insurance again and offering a small increase in child benefit. Nobody is going to fall for this Tory con trick of £8billion in tax cuts, massively offset by £19bn in tax rises and £19bn in public spending cuts scheduled after the next election.
After 14 years of mismanagement, growth is anaemic, living standards have flatlined and the UK continues to live beyond its means. Labour said the average family will be £870 worse after the new measures, while the tax burden will still be at its highest for 70 years.
The Budget will not save the Conservatives from electoral defeat but will only remind voters why they have to go. This was a chance for Mr Hunt to provide affordable housing, repair our crumbling schools and address the crisis in social care. Instead we got a stagnant Budget from a stagnant government, which what will deliver a stagnant economy.
Jeremy Hunt leaves Downing Street with his ministerial box before delivering his Budget (Getty Images)Drug of hope
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Kind of magic
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