Where's the money?
Those hidden tax rises that Jeramy Hunt has introduced are turning out to be much more profitable than thought. According to The Resolution Foundation, freezing tax bands was expected to raise £8 billion a year when fully rolled out, but now they are expected to raise £40 billion.
So where is the money? Why can’t the government afford anything? Why is everything falling apart? Or more realistically, how much does the Chancellor have for a pre-election tax give away?
Remember as with HS2 it is not just necessary to change policies to keep Labour on the back foot, it is necessary to spend all the money and then demand to know where the opposition will find the cash to fund its policies. Then you accuse it of flip flopping when they have to change their policies to match the new budget realities.
So the government is salting the earth, selling off land bought for HS2 so it can never be restarted, and so it will be with these extra billions. Spend them or more likely give them away and then insist the Labour would reverse the tax cuts.
Given that this government has massively increased the tax take, this is a deeply cynical policy, it is also immensely damaging as the public sector desperately needs the money and the economy desperately needs the investment it could pay for.
But this is dirty politics, and the next few months will be full of this kind of stuff.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media