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WITH 49 DAYS to go until the general election, today’s Budget announcement in the UK is being seen as an important moment for the coalition government.
Important – but not all that revolutionary.
Finance Minister George Osborne has repeatedly warned that there will be “no giveaways, no gimmicks” ahead of the vote on 7 May, with the Conservatives and Labour tied neck and neck in opinion polls.
With just hours to go before he unveils his sixth Budget at 12.30pm, here are a few things you can expect to see.
1. Osborne is playing the long game
Osborne has repeatedly said that this Budget will be about nailing down a recovery plan for the British economy, appealing to voters to stick to what they know when it comes to running the country.
“This is a budget for the long term,” he told the BBC at the weekend.
The coalition government implemented severe austerity cutbacks since coming to power in May 2010. Proponents argue that it has helped to fuel a solid economic recovery for the country, while critics, including Labour leader Ed Miliband, have argued that the economy has been damaged, poor people have been badly affected, and inequality has increased.
Osborne is likely going to use today to continue his cautious macroeconomic approach, asking voters to focus on what’s gone right during the coalition’s time in power and to trust him.
2. He’s copying Ireland when it comes to looking after older voters
It’s long been a canny election ploy in this country to appeal to older voters, who turn out in higher numbers to vote on election day. It seems likely that George Osborne will be aping this today with perks for these voters, including allowing pensioners to swap their regular fixed annual payments for cash lump sums.There is also speculation that higher tax reliefs on pensions might be introduced.
3. Osborne is taking on multi-national companies
This is one that could have ramifications for Ireland. It’s likely that one of the major announcements today will be a so-called ‘Google tax’ on companies that shift their profits overseas and avoid paying tax in Britain. This is likely to be coupled with more powers for the revenue service (HMRC) to combat tax avoidance.
4. He’s not forgetting about the much-neglected parts of the country
The north of England has often been something of an afterthought for consecutive government, with high unemployment and a distinct lack of investment across many parts of the country. Osborne is expected to flesh out plans today to boost investment in transport infrastructure, particularly in northern England, in a bid to encourage business and provide better links for the people who live there.
5. He’s still focusing on the base though
The Conservatives have reportedly put together a plan which will allow some parents to leave homes worth up to £1 million (€1.3 million to their children without paying inheritance tax, according to The Guardian.
The scheme would be of most benefit to the wealthiest fifth of households. A similar scheme was blocked by the Liberal Democrats last year, but seems likely to be revived by Osborne as a crowd please for the Tory base.
Additional reporting by AFP
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Thems the rules .. all countries do the same ..
@John Kelly: borders are man-made; nature did not invent lines on maps.
All people should be free to live where the want. Just because someone got to a place first does not give them a natural right to draw a line around it and claim it in perpetuity for their descendants.
A case of “I’m alright jack, pull the ladder up”.
@James Wormold: you’re right, borders are man made. So are poverty, crime, civilization, government, unemployment and economics.
@Declan Edward: yep. If we never had borders -or countries for that matter- poverty, hunger, war would simply not exist as there would be an equilibrium in place for all those things via the free movement of people.
@James Wormold: wow.
@James Wormold: that’s just not right
James Wormold: “Joined June 2019″
Lads, seriously, can ye not see the obvious troll?
@James Wormold: he coulda stayed there if he satisfied the entry criteria.. he hasn’t.. tough case and I feel for them .. nature gave us intelligence and abilities to develop .. we got to deal with these developments. And we haven’t developed utopia yet ..
IMAGINE .. JOHN LENNON
@James Wormold: sorry kid but even I’m not that liberal.
@James Wormold: Do you have a fence bordering your house or a wall bordering your back garden? Do you have locks on your door or do you leave it wide open all day? You do this to keep potentially dangerous people out. So do countries..
@James Wormold: Germany and Sweden tried this. Impact? More rapes than can be counted, proposals to raise the Swedish retirement age to avoid a welfare shortfall, requiring the German media to completely gloss over multiple lone wolf ISIS attacks with false information blaming them on mentally ill natives
@Trenchant Buffoon: balls
@James Wormold: are you in favor of open borders?
@John Kelly: tell that to the native Americans on the reservations
@Anthony Doyle: and who was there before the natives pal???
Why are we using the term “undocumented immigrant”?
The term is “illegal immigrants”.
He’s right, it is unfair on people who apply legally and spend months getting paper work together and spend a lot of money just to get to the point of even applying for a visa that could be rejected. Immigration laws are there for a reason. If there aren’t consequences for people entering illegally the situation will get worse because more and more people just wont bother with the legal process.
@Sam Harms: I’m an immigrant in Ireland. Have lived as immigrant in 4 different countries. Never feared immigration law enforcement. But maybe it’s because I’m the different kind of immigrant…
@Tony Garcia: were you living in the countries illegally?
I love the way Irish people call Irish documented citizen living illegally, “Undocumented”
Arrivals at Dublin Airport will get busy then
The Left loves laws, rules and regulations. The more the better, specially laws with will prevent people from saying things with a a bit “uncomfortable”.
The only law they don’t like is immigration law.
I wonder if we tell Pelosi that people crossing the border illegally, (yes The Jornal, the term is Illegal) are bring to the country plastic straws? Would she change her mind?
At its core, this is a reasonable thing: remove people who have been ordered removed by the courts. I think most people are ok with that. How Trump is playing it is deeply political. It’s a fear play out and out. He is so divisive.
@Kevin O’Donnell: if said people have been there for decades, have homes/careers/kids etc I don’t think “most people” are ok with removing them.
Totally agree with Sam’s point, my son applied legally for his J1 and J2 visa, which the amount of paper work is crazy plus he had to make a visit to the American embassy in Dublin. He did not overstay because I had warned him about ICE.
Journal, stop calling these people “undocumented”. They are illegal immigrants, who have no right to be there and will rightly be deported. These kind of people make a mockery of those who work hard to obtain legal visas through the proper channels.
The idea of starting a life as an illegal in any country is just so silly. You risk loosing everything in a split second. You wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with the worry.
It can be done legally so no sympathy from me for illegal immigrants
Good fences make good neighbors
No fences make no neighbors
Imagine that if you can
you commenters here are just perfect aren’t you. This is a very worrying situation for so many families. If they do go heavy on these raids and lots of Irish get sent home there’ll be a Nice little bill for the Irish taxpayer to pick up at the end of it. Will give you something else to moan about
Good fences make good neighbors
No fences make no neighbors and mainly friends
Imagine that if you can
have your say