The Spring Budget on 6 March was the final chance for this Government to turn around 14 years of economic mismanagement and try to put the British economy back on track.
It turned out to be yet another missed opportunity.
One small positive was a short-term extension of the Household Support Fund, which has already helped millions of households struggling because of the cost-of-living crisis triggered by former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
However, a six-month extension is simply not good enough: three-quarters of councils expect hardship to increase over the next year.
“One small positive was a short-term extension of the Household Support Fund, which has helped millions of struggling households”
Stealing Labour’s longstanding policy of scrapping non-domicile tax loopholes demonstrates the Chancellor has resorted to copying other people’s ideas.
If only he had picked up Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ wider plan for a decade of national renewal, with fully costed promises and a new fiscal lock to bring economic security back to family finances.
Instead, the Chancellor chose to revive the corpse of Trussonomics, with a proposal to abolish National Insurance contributions altogether – a £46 billion unfunded commitment that could see NHS funding cut to the bone.
Remarkably similar to Liz Truss’s disastrous fiscal event, which crashed the entire economy on the back of £45 billion unfunded tax cuts, it was proof that the Conservatives have learnt nothing.
History repeating itself, first as tragedy, then as farce: perhaps that could be Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s slogan when he eventually decides to call the General Election?