The 2017 Spring Budget
The Conservatives promised in their 2015 election manifesto that they wouldn’t raise National Insurance, among other taxes. Jeremy Corbyn now concludes his speech by accusing the budget of doing nothing to tackle “the low-pay state of emergency”. There is nothing, he says to create a fair economy. Instead, he argues, the budget is “built on the failure to tackle unfairness.”
The Chancellor has “gone against the spirit of that pledge” by raising NI contributions for self-employed workers.
Key issues at Glance
- Chancellor Philip Hammond has presented the 2017 Spring Budget
- New sugar tax to combat obesity
- National insurance contributions will rise for the self-employed from 9% to 11% by 2019
- £2bn extra for adult social care
- Economic growth forecast raised for 2017 to 2%
- Borrowing forecast cut to £51.7bn in 2016
- Earnings and income forecasts have gone down.
- VAT to be applied to mobile phone calls made outside the EU
- All pupils on free school meals will also be able to receive free travel to selective schools
- The new qualifications T-Levels will include a high-quality 3 month work placement for every student
- Universities will be asked to sponsor free schools and barriers to setting up faith schools will be removed
- The creation of new selective schools and 110 new free schools
- £23bn of investment in science and innovation
More analysis to follow.
Social Media Reaction
Is this a Token gesture because it’s #womansday???
On #InternationalWomensDay, UK government pledges more money to support womenhttps://t.co/LykjWrXCC0 #Budget2017 pic.twitter.com/Aldq54JPdO
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 8, 2017
https://twitter.com/gweirydd/status/839484232451903488
I've accidentally terrified myself. #Budget2017 #pmqs pic.twitter.com/T6lsHAiNhe
— Jay Fu (@Mock_Fu) March 8, 2017
