Surprise, surprise, a Budget U-Turn

[Saracen]

Wot a shock.

Spreadsheet Phil forgot to include the 'political poopstorm' equation in his budget spreadsheet, and as he stands there, nose-deep in the stuff, he's decided NOT to increase NI contributions for the self-employed .... at exactly the same time that Tory International Development Minister Rory Stewart was on the Daily Politics trying to squirm his way through justifying it to Andrew Neil ...., and failing pretty miserably, IMHO.

Gee, thanks, Phil, Love Rory.

Look, Chancellor, it's pretty simple. If you, or even your predecessor, make a promise not to do something in an election manifesto, get elected and then, proceed to do what you promised not to do, you ARE going to get accused of breaking a promise, at a minimum, and lying to the electorate and undermining any chance of ever being believed again.

And when you promise it not once, but four times, and do so on page ONE, and then go on to repeat the promise in the Queen's Speech, no amount of weasel words trying to justify how increasing NI isn't actually increasing NI is going to work. It is just going to make you look like an incompetent dickhead caught stepping in a giant whoopsie of his own making, running a department where apparently NOBODY thought to check budget measures against your own damn manifesto. You need some better SPAD's, Phil, ol' boy.

What was that budget joke about the opposition being fully acquainted with driverless car technology? I hope you enjoyed delivering your comedy act, Mr. Hammond, but it now rather looks like the biggest joke was the twerp making the speech.

And it took you a WHOLE WEEK to work out you were going to have to U-turn on this? The rest of the nation worked that out within hours of the poop hitting the fan.

Jeez, and we thought Osborne could pull an omnishambles budget

[neonplanet40]

:O Saracen is angry? (and/or surprised?)

It's not like you to use naughty language

Nothing which comes from the tories that is incompetent surprises me.

Power for the course.

[peterb]

I wonder if there will be a cabinet reshuffle in the next 12 months?

No mention of the cut in tax free dividend allowance though.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The last few decades of politics has been a farce in this country and the public still believes all of it.

You know very well it will be the same tune - the rich get richer,and everybody else will pay more,get paid less and get less in return.

[TheAnimus]

No mention of the cut in tax free dividend allowance though.

I always wonder if people do something like this NI change, so they can back peddle on it, and get the 'real' change through.

[Phage]

The last few decades of politics has been a farce in this country and the public still believes all of it.

You know very well it will be the same tune - the rich get richer,and everybody else will pay more,get paid less and get less in return.

I think we've been here before.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/read-abou...night-oil.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2DTOiYpT0

[Bluecube]

One thing I can't find any info about is whether the Class 2 NI contributions are still being abolished or whether they will continue now.

[Jowsey]

One thing I can't find any info about is whether the Class 2 NI contributions are still being abolished or whether they will continue now.

Still being abolished. The u-turn is on the increase in the rate of Class 4's.

[Bluecube]

That's what I thought. So that means the self employed will be better off! I'm not going to complain about that.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I think we've been here before.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/read-abou...night-oil.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2DTOiYpT0

Great band!

[Saracen]

:O Saracen is angry? (and/or surprised?)

It's not like you to use naughty language

Nothing which comes from the tories that is incompetent surprises me.

Power for the course.

It's the degree of sheer unadulterated numbskullery of it that suprises me.

Angry? Not really. More disgusted at the lack of professionalism.

First, that some muppet forgot the basic Politics 101 - check Manifesto commitments. Second, that having stepped so publicly on his own wotsit that Hammond thought a legalistic argument that they were within the letter of the Manifesto commitment was going to hold up. Firstly, Phil, you plonker .... NO, IT WASN'T. But even if it had been, that's not the point.

And to pull this right in the middle of investigations into electoral expense misreporting, and they wonder why people don't trust politicians.

I mean, we have a pathetic joke for an opposition leader, and now this. If anyone wants know how "populist" leaders get elected, it's antics like this from so-called professionals.

No wonder people are losibg faith in, or patience with, "politicians" all over the place.

Which makes me wonder how Wilders did? Not enough to be Dutch PM, but enough to be largest party? Next up? France. Wonderful. Not.

[Xlucine]

Blair would never let the opposition get away with something like this!

Which makes me wonder how Wilders did? Not enough to be Dutch PM, but enough to be largest party? Next up? France. Wonderful. Not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39285803
He drew with a couple of parties that no-one outside of the netherlands knows/cares about, with another of the parties that have nothing to do with him taking the biggest slice

[Saracen]

....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39285803
He drew with a couple of parties that no-one outside of the netherlands knows/cares about, with another of the parties that have nothing to do with him taking the biggest slice

You mean ... he looks likely to draw with ....etc.

Bear in mind these are exit poll figures, and very early results. The final official results eill be some time yet. But it looks like not as bad as could have been, and was predicted by some as likely to be.

[Zak33]

Blair would never let the opposition get away with something like this!

no...he'd be preparing for war and not telling anyone

[Smudger]

I think he did this just to get the heat off Liam 'I did not send that tweet' Fox

[Corky34]

First, that some muppet forgot the basic Politics 101 - check Manifesto commitments. Second, that having stepped so publicly on his own wotsit that Hammond thought a legalistic argument that they were within the letter of the Manifesto commitment was going to hold up. Firstly, Phil, you plonker .... NO, IT WASN'T. But even if it had been, that's not the point.

I'm not sure many Conservatives consider the 2015 manifesto applies to them as it was written by Cameron and Osborne, not saying i agree with that view but on TV i heard a presenter saying most Conservative MP's don't like the idea of being bound to a manifesto that was written with the expectation of a coalition and Cameron still being PM after he won the referendum.

What seems ludicrous to me is that people are saying how not increasing NICS payments was in the manifesto but no one seems to have picked up on it also saying they'd "safeguard British interests in the Single Market" and that "We say: yes to the Single Market" but apparently Mrs May has already thrown out that pledge.