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