The big surprise in the Statement is a large further increase in spending on top of the substantial increases announced in the June budget.
In June the Chancellor raised the total spending planned for this Parliament by £70 billion. In this Autumn Statement he has raised it by another £86 billion.
Current year spending goes up by £13 billion or 1.8% compared to the March and June forecasts.
2016-17 spending goes up by £33 billion compared to March, or 4.4%.
2017-18 spending goes up by £43.6 billion compared to March, or 5.9%.
2018-19 spending goes up by £42 billion, or 5.5%.
2019-20 spending rises by £23.7bn or 3%.
Borrowing stays lower owing to the assumption that low interest rates will stay with us for longer, saving money on the national debt, and on the assumption that tax revenue will improve more than expected before.
November 25, 2015
Week before promises of spending being cut– cancelled.
Spending is going up and up…and…up. Sounds like a broadcast on behalf of the Labour Party minus the guffaws gurning and clownish histrionics from the Tory Front bench.
Tax credit cuts as “an absolute necessity” —cancelled.
War on the House of Lord’s criticism of tax credit cuts—cancelled.
War is Peace: Freedom is Slavery.
And of course Mr Cameron’s “We can’t afford to wait for a political settlement in Syria before taking action ” is one up on Ex-Minister Blair’s death orations on Iraq after instructions from Bush II across the Pond.
1984 by George Orwell is Cameron’s and Osborne’s Holy Quran. No wonder there are police outside their doors in Downing Street 24/7 and they are followed wherever they go by hearing-impaired people with sunglasses.
November 25, 2015
John,
As I said in a recent post, now Labour had lurched to the left, this gave the Conservatives a great opportunity to really show a difference between them and a small state and low taxation economy; however most of us probably feared that Cameron would chase them left. This is exactly what’s happened. That was a statement Tony Blair would be proud of. Those who voted Conservative at the last election must be seething.
As I also said in a recent post, the Cameroons and New Labourites might as well start their own centre-left party together as they clearly don’t have Conservative or Labour convictions.
This is exactly why people don’t feel the need to vote. What was the point in turfing out the lunatic Brown, who couldn’t stop himself rifling through your pockets, if the person after him continues to steal ever penny you work for too and spend it on exactly the same things?
November 25, 2015
£12 Billion more on tax credits for starters.
When do I get my tax cut and my child benefit back?
November 25, 2015
There only one thing it adds up to more and more immigrant,
November 25, 2015
“A Blairite Budget from a spend and borrow government” says Mark Reckless. I agree with him. It will not end well.
November 25, 2015
Osborne’s actions do not make economic sense. According to Mark Reckless:
“As well as increasing our contribution to the EU to £55 million a day, the government has now increased our spending on overseas aid to £30 million a day, rising to nearly £40 million per day by the end of the parliament. There will be more spent, we have learnt today, on overseas aid than the government spends on the Home Office, including our police. Surely this is insane when the greatest threat to the people of this country is terrorism…”
November 25, 2015
What a load of hot air. What makes Gideon think that tax receipts are going to increase substantially.
The only growth we are getting is in and due to immigration.
I don’t know what he is smoking but I would cease immediately.
November 25, 2015
The many migrants pouring into the country claiming to be scrap metal dealers, car washers, big issue sellers etc. are presumably going to start paying taxes to pay for Gidons spending spree.
November 25, 2015
Is it possible to deduce how much of the additional forecast tax revenues are accounted for by an increase in the growth forecast, how much by increases in tax rates and how much by a change in the tax mix? Given the doubts expressed about the world economy this all sounds much too easy.
November 25, 2015
I am delighted to see that the waste of money (£1bn in subsidy) on the idiotic carbon capture and storage projects has been halted, presumably with a payment of redundancy costs to those who had been pursuing it at the behest of DECC previously.
More like this please – e.g. Hinkley Point, HS2.
November 26, 2015
There will be money for research into small modular nuclear reactors. The US and other countries are already well advanced on these. Is our research going to be linked with other existing designs, or are we starting from scratch?
November 25, 2015
How does ‘fixing the roof when the sun is shining’ square with a ‘big increase in spending’ ?
November 25, 2015
Only Ed Miliband and Mr. Ed Balls could be behind Mr Osborne’s retention of tax credits; massive increase in Council Tax in cash terms if not percentage-wise and an in-built mind-set assumption that Mr Cameron’s so-called renegotiation will bear absolutely no fruit whatsoever affecting the economy good or bad and, a definite STAY vote in the EU referendum.
Well it is good Mr Miliband’s expertise in the financial field is being used even by the Tory Party behind the scenes.As Mr McDonnell knows “We have always maintained that the revolution must rely on the masses of people, on everybody taking a hand…” (Mao Tse-tung’s Little Red Book Peking 1967 quoting ” A talk to the Editorial Staff of the Shansi Suiyuan Daily April 2nd 1948 “. It is hoped he (Mr Miliband) is charging a rip-off fee. However he is also as wrong in his ideas just as much as Mr Osborne. They should both be sent down to the countryside to learn from the peasants. Margate is full of them nowadays.
November 26, 2015
The essence of a conservative policy was summarised by – of all people – Polly Toynbee on BBC TV a few years ago:
“Smaller government, lower taxes and less intrusion into peoples’ lives”.
If there were a conservative party to vote for I am sure it would enjoy a massive majority next time – at least in England.
November 26, 2015
Hear, hear.
November 26, 2015
You are right, RH. A very sorry situation in this country. I cannot comprehend why so called Conservative MPs have let this happen. The only reasons must relate to weakness, lack of courage, and the misguided perception that power could only be gained and retained by ditching Conservative principles and adopting a Blairite approach, as offered by Cameron.
November 26, 2015
Answer = UKIP
November 26, 2015
Hear, hear.