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In the Budget, Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, spoke of ‘long-term growth’. He cut National Insurance by 2p in the pound, saving the average worker £450 a year but pensioners nothing. A new ‘British Isa’ would allow an extra £5,000 a year tax-free investment. Tax arrangements for non-doms would be changed. The 28 per cent capital gains tax on property would go down to 24 per cent. Alcohol and fuel duty were frozen for a year; vaping would attract duty. He said the UK was on track to become the world’s next Silicon Valley and second only to Hollywood for film. The NHS would become ‘digitally integrated’ and drones become police first-responders. He announced devolved powers for Surrey and remarked on Sir Keir Starmer’s weight. The Chancellor gave £1 million to building a Muslim war memorial. Royal Mail is raising the price of all stamps again by 10p from April, with first class going up to £1.35. On one day, 401 migrants crossed the Channel. Bully XL dogs will not be banned in Northern Ireland.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, addressed the nation from a lectern outside 10 Downing Street, saying: ‘It is beyond horrifying that last night the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate who denies the horror of what happened on October 7.’ He also said that ‘streets have been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to our values’ and that the government would ‘implement a new robust framework’ for policing such protests.
The day before, George Galloway, the Workers Party of Britain candidate, had won the Rochdale by-election with 12,335 votes, 40 per cent of the total. ‘Keir Starmer – this is for Gaza,’ he said. ‘Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight.’
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