Liz Truss and the Conservative Party.

[philosopher]

If you feel a little uneasy about this budget, you may be entirely missing the truly epic scale of how wrong it is

After this budget, I would not be surprised if the government will ultimately one day be forced to request an IMF bailout.

 

[yorksrob]

Is there any chance the backbenchers might force an adjustment ?

 

[nlogax]

Is there any chance the backbenchers might force an adjustment ?

I highly doubt it although let's see the reaction from the right-leaning press tomorrow morning. There's a small chance that it could focus minds.

 

[najaB]

After this budget, I would not be surprised if the government will ultimately one day be forced to request an IMF bailout.

It's not out of the realm of possibility, as scary a thought as that is.

 

[johncrossley]

What I don't understand is why conservatives don't care about debt nowadays. The same applies to the Republicans in the US, who are also quite happy to borrow to pay for tax cuts. The proper conservatives are in mainland Europe, who consider balancing the books to be very important. Supposedly "tax and spend" orientated countries like the Netherlands and Denmark have AAA ratings from S&P, whereas the UK and US don't.

 

[yorksrob]

I think it's ideological. Ms Truss and her followers genuinely believe that if you make a tax cut for the wealthier, they will go around starting world beating industries, employing lots of people.

Of course, one or two may well do, but enough to off-set the public borrowing to pay for the tax cut ? Personally, I doubt it.

 

[birchesgreen]

After this budget, I would not be surprised if the government will ultimately one day be forced to request an IMF bailout.

If we do it'll still be Labour's fault of course

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I’ve spoken to a few conservatives today. None of them think this was sensible! (They are all economists though).

You can count me as a (currently) conservative voter who thinks the whole thing is appalling. The only sensible bits of it were the cut in stamp duty (a destructive tax that harms mobility and IMO really needs to be removed altogether), and a small thing that's largely escaped attention: A hint that the effective ban on on-shore windfarms that we've had for a few years will be scrapped. Everything else about it just strikes me as utterly irresponsible fantasy-accounting.

On a totally separate note, have Labour and the LibDems said anything positive about the reversal of the NI increase? I hope they will have done, since they were so against the increase when it was brought in.

 

[RichJF]

What I don't understand is why conservatives don't care nowadays.

Fixed that for you...

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

I don’t often comment on political matters on these pages. But this budget is just wrong.

Kwarteng is a very, very clever man; I’ve met him. I really don’t understand how removing the 45% top rate, can be seen as anything but rewarding the rich. He must know that.

more importantly, it is clear that there is a big question mark over how this is all to be funded. The markets have spoken, and the Treasury will be very spooked (Or, potentially, preparing a “told you so, Chancellor” note).

Thats why he's ditched the permanent secretary so there is no internal pushback. He's also got Bailey in his back pocket meeting him twice weekly to make sure interest rate rises are tempered. They will be quite happy with a lower pound as it will help our exports and they claim credit for that.

 

[Bald Rick]

A hint that the effective ban on on-shore windfarms that we've had for a few years will be scrapped.

That was already announced a while back.

They will be quite happy with a lower pound as it will help our exports and they claim credit for that.

If only there was a large nearby market that could take our exports without restriction.

 

[Perthsaint]

Any boost to exports will be temporary as inflation and more expensive imports increase costs.

 

[TrainGeekUK]

Back to the days of Thatcher…. Rich get richer and the poor are booted into oblivion and poverty.
The combined Truss and Kwarteng ideas will render the £ to dust.

 

[Wynd]

When do we start calling this what it is? A sterling crisis.

 

[BenS123]

Is there a chance of the pound sterling actually falling below the US Dollar?

 

[Perthsaint]

Is there a chance of the pound sterling actually falling below the US Dollar?

It's only a matter of time

 

[najaB]

Is there a chance of the pound sterling actually falling below the US Dollar?

I'd be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't happen before the end of the year. The US government is run by adults and is enacting sensible policies, ours is an asylum run by the patients.

 

[brad465]

Thats why he's ditched the permanent secretary so there is no internal pushback. He's also got Bailey in his back pocket meeting him twice weekly to make sure interest rate rises are tempered. They will be quite happy with a lower pound as it will help them rake it in from currency betting and fire sales of UK assets.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Bevan Price]

Given that Ms Truss is, by all accounts*, a politician who seeks to be popular by doing things that are popular with her electorate, has she completely misjudged this, or is there a whole part of the population that thinks this ‘budget’ is a great thing but are keeping mysteriously silent that about it?

I’ve spoken to lots of people today, across the political spectrum and social spectrum, and not one of them thinks this ‘budget’ is a good one.

*including my account, from when I’ve met her.

I think that too many people believe everything they are told by the Torygraph/Express/Mail/Scum, etc.

I wonder what excuse they will find for not increasing pensions at the full rate of inflation from next April ??

 

[JamesT]

I'd be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't happen before the end of the year. The US government is run by adults and is enacting sensible policies, ours is an asylum run by the patients.

I think it largely depends if the Fed keep cranking up their interest rates faster than the BoE do. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, so people flock to it in troubled times. The current exchange rates largely reflect dollar strength, the dollar index which compares against a basket of currencies is at a 20 year high. Before today, the Pound and the Euro had fallen by a similar amount against the Dollar (12/13%). Today the Pound fell 3.6% and the Euro fell 1.5%, taking it back below parity.

 

[Perthsaint]

I think it largely depends if the Fed keep cranking up their interest rates faster than the BoE do. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, so people flock to it in troubled times. The current exchange rates largely reflect dollar strength, the dollar index which compares against a basket of currencies is at a 20 year high. Before today, the Pound and the Euro had fallen by a similar amount against the Dollar (12/13%). Today the Pound fell 3.6% and the Euro fell 1.5%, taking it back below parity.

It could be this. But it isn't. It's brexit.

 

[JamesT]

It could be this. But it isn't. It's brexit.

Brexit is making the US Federal Reserve raise interest rates? How does that work?

 

[tomuk]

I think it largely depends if the Fed keep cranking up their interest rates faster than the BoE do. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, so people flock to it in troubled times. The current exchange rates largely reflect dollar strength, the dollar index which compares against a basket of currencies is at a 20 year high. Before today, the Pound and the Euro had fallen by a similar amount against the Dollar (12/13%). Today the Pound fell 3.6% and the Euro fell 1.5%, taking it back below parity.

I think the BoE should have raised intrest rates by 0.75 yesterday the markets had been expecting it but the BoE seemed too slow again.

 

[Perthsaint]

Brexit is making the US Federal Reserve raise interest rates?

Not really, no. Brexit is causing the UK economy to falter permanently which is causing the fall in sterling.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

It could be this. But it isn't. It's brexit.

Ah yes, of course. Because Brexit is single-handedly responsible for every evil in the World, isn't it!

The other day, a fox poo'd in my garden and I had to deal with it. I guess that was caused by Brexit too.

 

[Perthsaint]

Ah yes, of course. Because Brexit is single-handedly responsible for every evil in the World, isn't it!

The other day, a fox poo'd in my garden and I had to deal with it. I guess that was caused by Brexit too.

Brexit is responsible for the things brexit is responsible for. Like the erosion of sterling.

I've no idea what the rest of your dribble means.

 

[brad465]

It could be this. But it isn't. It's brexit.

It's neoliberalism (which also indirectly caused Brexit as the system's failures caused dissatisfaction among voters who saw Brexit as change from the status quo that wasn't working for them). The budget we've just had is the most neoliberal budget this country has ever had for that matter.

 

[Perthsaint]

It's neoliberalism

Causing the slide in sterling? Nope, it's brexit.

 

[JamesT]

Not really, no. Brexit is causing the UK economy to falter permanently which is causing the fall in sterling.

So what’s causing the fall in the euro against the dollar then? Are their economies also faltering permanently?

 

[Perthsaint]

So what’s causing the fall in the euro against the dollar then? Are their economies also faltering permanently?

The issue isn't the Euro but Sterling.

(But, since you ask, it's the war in Ukraine)