The budget was meant to be a boost to growth. Instead it was another big transfer of money from a struggling and burdened private sector to pay for a bloated and inefficient state.£30 bn for Mauritius and Chagos. £20 bn a year for Bank of England losses. A welcome for many thousands of illegal migrants with their big hotel bills. Endorsement for putting many more people onto benefits. Giving many more a sick note for life with no requirement to look for work. Recruiting more public sector administrators to lower productivity more.
Instead of tackling over spending the Chancellor added to it by ending the two child cap and ploughing on with steel and rail nationalisation and with renewable investment. This all needs serious taxpayer cash.
The long list of extra taxes and the predicted hike in Income tax to penalise success, hard work and enterprise is more of the same. It will do more harm to a sluggish economy. Industry will continue to be demolished by net zero and high energy prices, and retail and hospitality hit by high taxes. Pity the young who will find it increasingly difficult to get a first job, and later to buy a first home.
November 26, 2025
No more or less than expected.
Take from the workers, and give it to the sherkers.
Up spending on the management of the State, for nothing in return.
Further attacks on the savers, and an envy tax on owners of houses living in expensive areas.
More dragged into higher tax rates, and Inheritance tax.
In short absolutely nothing to encourage work, saving of business investment.
It is reported that you are out of work with 6 children you will be £14,000 better off !!!!!
Deluded policies which shows they are completely out of touch with the people.
November 26, 2025
@Berkshire Allan – the plan in action, create bankruptcy, a crisis and the Poliburo Parliament walks back under the EU’s unelected unacceptable control. As RR and 2TK keeps reminding us our problems started with Brexit
November 26, 2025
In the early years of Blair/Brown they kept to Conservative borrowing levels and even the latter years of Blair, they were reasonably OK. It was only when Brown became PM that it all started to go wrong.
This lot have been completely different. Their economic policy has been far to the left of Blair from the start and every measure in this new budget is even worse than last year.
They are progressively loading up the private sector with taxation and debt while giving away billions to the feckless freeloaders claiming benefits for barely recognisable illnesses and the inefficient state sector with no requirement to meet improved productivity targets. In fact the OBR forecast is that productivity is actually going to worsen in the next year !
Can there be any doubt that whoever is chancellor next Autumn, ( and I bet it won’t be Theeves), will come back for even more of our money !
As a Landlord faced with another 2% tax hike from 2027, on top of everything else Rayner has thrown at us, we will have to put up rents again. When I do, I will be telling our tenants it is an inflation rate rise plus 2% for the Reeves tax levy
November 27, 2025
Some critics refer to ‘Rachel from Accounts’ as being an offensive term, yet Accounting is the main purpose of the Exchequer. Most descriptions of Rachel’s performance describe ‘Reeves’ as ‘Incompetent’ or involve words of very similar meaning. At PMQs the Opposition Leader described her performance accurately, and held her to account very well.
Many politicians express unfairness when confronted by their critics. Reporters similarly interrogated Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride about the Conservative Party record when in office, hurriedly addressing him as ‘Sir Mel’. In their haste to get the most response in the shortest time it sounded like they were referring to him insensitively as: Smell!
November 26, 2025
Good evening Sir John,
The BBC nevertheless showed charts of growth in the next few years. I find it difficult to see where that will come from, given we have a government no one trusts not to hike taxes more because they can’t control spending. Who will invest in this country with this government in power?
Perhaps people would be persuaded that there’s a need for more tax, if only there was a credible plan for how they will come down in the future. Everyone expects this government to increase taxes year on year with no let up, when they discover the existing taxes don’t cover their appetite for spending.
It’s a fire hose on aspiration.
November 26, 2025
Like the de-industrialization of the Eighties, where, to this day, there are People that have not recovered, have not been able to save anything, let alone buy a Home, the People of the Regions must be asking ‘what is the point’?
The Coal industry has been replaced by the State, and a Labour Party clique, that looks after themselves!
If this Budget proves anything, it proves that Universal Credit is being used to force People into State Dependency, the product of the Customs Union, and only supported by Remainers! Next will be more re-alignment, joint Defense (Even though we have different Defense Requirements, they will claim Britain’s defense is the EU’s defense. It’s NOT! Britain will never again be capable of defending the Eastern Border. The establishment want to look relevant, it’s not!)! The Collectivist State, by definition!
How can she stand there and blatantly deceive the British People?
November 26, 2025
The long list of extra taxes will do nothing to stimulate the economy or give any relief to those already suffering from crippling taxation.
This was a budget that lacked inspiration or innovation – it will continue the course already set to make us all paupers while the economy will surely crash and burn with no incentive to do otherwise.
Well done to the Chancellor for a budget that defies logic – it truly was a socialist one that they seem to be proud of, but that just proves the point that Labour have no competence when it comes to the budget.
November 26, 2025
The word farmer did not appear. Nor did fishing. Just lists of new taxes all over the place as you say. I didn’t live through the post war Labour budgets but this struck me as the most cruelly unfair budget ever, as well as the most economically illiterate.
November 26, 2025
I have decided to join the non workers.
Pretty sure I can have a decent cash income to supplement the sickness benefit that the stress from having to work creates.
I don’t anticipate being much worse off and I will certainly be more healthy.
November 26, 2025
Yup….. we all get to give the unproductive more of the money we haven’t got. More spending more borrowing with the dream that down the line generally after the next election a means to pay will be found. A Socialist Parliament redistrbuting wealth that hasn’t been earned
It would have been so much easier to encourage a growing economy, create the real wealth that secured the nations future
It was about giving the UK Parliament the feeling that they had done something, punished the horrible wealth creators and ensured their voters base
November 26, 2025
We are reminded what our alignment with the EU costs – illegal migrants are a must have under the rules of the game..
“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is promoting Hungary as Europe’s safest Christmas destination in a new video posted on X. Inviting tourists to ‘experience Europe the way it should be,’ he also stressed that Hungary pays a daily €1 million fine for not opening its borders to illegal migrants.”
November 27, 2025
Hungary is not paying €1 m euros per day, Hungary does not get its stipend from the rest of the EU. The country was supposed to get €1.04 billion from the EU on 01/01/2025. Given the refusal of the Hungarian government to tackling corruption, allowing a free press, …, and its policy towards immigration Hungary did not get this stipend.
November 26, 2025
who is going to buy a hybrid car? not only fuel duty but also tax per mile plus road tax. the worst of all tax worlds.
why a massive luxury tax on 40 K or 50 K plus cars? they are already paying more in VAT etc
completely confused mixed up nonsense policies.
laughed very loudly at many Labour MP’s saying the budget will pay down the national debt, about time you did another update on current national debt, difference to deficit, how much they are etc… John?
Reply Will do. She plans to borrow a whopping extra £620 bn over next five years which will mean around £25 bn a year more annual interest.
November 27, 2025
lots of tweets from the Chancellor herself claiming that her budget “cuts the national debt”, surely you know someone in parliament who could raise the obvious lying from her?
November 26, 2025
Not forgetting £22 billion to be spent on completely pointless Carbon Capture, the cost of which will be added to bills. Cutting some subsidies from energy bills simply adds them to taxation. Not a sign of anything significant to stimulate growth.
November 26, 2025
Says it all, From the DT Jeremy Warner
Reeves is just one step away from a financial crisis
To ramp up welfare spending with public finances in such a mess is extraordinarily dangerous
November 26, 2025
A great performance from Kemi
November 26, 2025
Good evening.
As I said recently:
“From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.”
That is the corner stone of Labour and Socialism. I take from you and give to others (ie my supporters / dependent class).
This will not end well.
November 26, 2025
Why was Reeves angry about the OBR releasing the budget early when just about every measure had already appeared in the newspapers during the past week having been leaked by the Reeves team ? Very odd.
November 26, 2025
From April next year a part time worker on the minimum wage will only need to work more than 19 hours a week to be fiscally dragged into paying income tax. Meanwhile more and more people on modest middle incomes will be caught by the higher 40% tax band. To reduce personal tax allowances and higher rate thresholds in real terms via fiscal drag is sly and unfair. Labour then insults taxpayers’ intelligence by saying that income tax rates are not being increased. To further rile ordinary working people the government increases out of work welfare benefits in line with inflation and continues to spend a fortune on accommodating asylum claimants in hotels. Whatever side this Labour government is on, today’s budget is proof enough that it is definitely not on the side of the ‘labouring, working’ classes
November 26, 2025
Dear Sir John,
Back in the 1970s, for those who can remember, all manner of business and financial decisions were determined by tax considerations rather than cost and price. How to remunerate staff, or exactly where, how and from whom a builder would buy a new digger or hoist. The massive endowment assurance sector depended largely on tax advantages and withered away when they were withdrawn ( to help pay for income tax cuts) in the Lawson budget of 1984 ( as I recall.)
With the two latest Budgets, these times have returned. Some treasured concessions have gone, new ones are opening up. Tax will be to the fore when deciding how to save or invest, or whether to save at all. Local building societies may find life hard, as will savers trying to assemble a deposit for their first home. Masny will be pushed into higher risk at a riskier time.
These are all symptoms of excessive taxation, combined with Labour’s election tax promises, which probably had little effect on voting. Two good principles of taxation are equity – that everyone should be taxed the same on the same things – and efficiency, so that taxes raise the most money with the least economic distortion. Both seem to have been abandoned as we head back to the bad old days.
November 26, 2025
Never, in the course of human political conflict, have so many paid so much, for so little,
What we would not give for a true political statesman in this modern age.
November 26, 2025
Massive stealth taxing – pathetic trying to hide the taxes already lined up every year ahead – so much for they won’t tax the workers. I agree with most of the highest income / property owning taxing – but where was any incentive to build business and find growth. Nothing about benefit shirkers, nothing about reducing massive handouts to the illegals and immigrants. How cruel stopping Mobility handouts from having BMW/Mercs etc.
November 26, 2025
Sir John, when you and others mention billions of pounds you should in general divide it by about 30 million to convert it into cost in pounds per household. Ordinary people neither understand nor comprehend billions of pounds but when it is translated into cost for their household they will well understand and more people will then be persuaded by the case you, I and others are putting about the government wasting money.
For instance almost nobody comprehends 30 billion pounds for Mauritius and Chagos but they would understand and be outraged at their household having to pay £1000 in future rent just to give ownership of the land the base stands on away to the not exactly friendly Mauritian government.
Reply Good idea which I sometimes remember to do.
November 27, 2025
Indeed, but also remember that about 50% of households pay no net tax after the benefits they receive directly back plus services like schools for their children, healthcare, school dinners, mobility cars, child benefits… so more like £2,000 for the few households that that do actually pay net tax in!
November 27, 2025
We should most of all blame the conservatives in government for what’s happening. If they hadn’t gone left of centre in all main policy areas Labour would not have been elected.
November 27, 2025
True – that door was always ajar, getting more open as the procession of PMs were chosen. Finally we decided not to prop up the failings any longer.
November 27, 2025
The only good thing to come out of the Budget yesterday was Kemi Badenoch’s response to it. It was outstanding. She articulated what the country was thinking and she let fly at an undeserving and inept Chancellor.
The Labour party are now unelectable. I think they know that so they are implementing an unconstrained, hard left ideology while they can. The next GE cannot come too soon.
November 27, 2025
But can it be made to come any sooner ? That surely ie the 60billion pound question.
November 27, 2025
The Chancelloress is doing the rounds this morning saying that £16 billion of productivity has been lost because of Conservative policies.
That may be true but what action did she take on productivity when handing out massive public sector pay rises last year?
Why do the interviewers not ask that?
November 27, 2025
The continuation of the tax threshold freeze, is an absolute scandal. £12570/year tax free (£1047/month) There are millions raking in benefits greater than that every month. Earned income should be tax free nearer to £20000/year.
November 27, 2025
“The budget was meant to be a boost to growth.”
Yes, but by whose definition of ‘growth’? The growth of prosperity/GDP per capita and the wealth of the country or the growth of government Net Zero regulations, taxation, spending, dependency, welfare, immigration and poverty?
November 27, 2025
As was predictable, the Budget was solely to keep Reeves and Starmer in Office – by appeasing the PLP electorate.