Duffield has always been an independent and rather odd spirit. Her criticisms are about character and judgement as well as policy. I can’t see what the budget will change about character and judgement.
The policy, at least financial policy, side looks to be crumbling as well. If all the people actually eligible for pension credit take it up it will cost more than taking the winter fuel allowance away from those getting more than £11k a year, so no contribution to filling the ‘black hole’ there. The non dom policy, meant to raise £1bn (a pretty paltry amount) is in doubt because it will only take a few rich people to leave, taking their spending with them, for that to cost money as well and so that is being re thought. Reeves is going to play with the definitions to give herself borrowing headroom while staying within the self imposed ‘rules’ by redefining my daughters student debt (and everyone else’s) as a government asset (even though it is estimated that less than 30% of debts incurred to 2023 will be repaid in full). Also they plan to redefine the debt that is the government bail out stake in Nat West as an asset. I’m wondering why the Tories didn’t play these tricks. So that leaves us with Inheritance Tax, which is pretty small beer, and CGT. Fair enough, that’s what you would expect, let’s see what it actually means.
Meanwhile, Starmer and Streeting are
parroting a new slogan - ‘the NHS must reform or die’. I wish someone would challenge them on what the NHS ‘dying’ actually looks like and why they would let that happen if the totally undefined ‘reform’ doesn’t happen, and of course whether they agree that the ‘death’ of the NHS on their watch would be their responsibility.