Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

What should Philip Hammond announce in his Budget?

Next week’s Budget could be the government – and Philip Hammond’s – last chance to snatch the political momentum away from Labour. So what should he announce? Today’s newspaper editorials have some advice for the Chancellor:

Not too long ago, John McDonnell’s ‘alternative budget’ would have been announced ‘in complete obscurity’, says the Daily Telegraph. Not so now, and the Tories clearly need ‘big ideas’ to see off a resurgent Labour party. This should not mean they resort to borrowing the party’s ‘Left-wing solutions’ – or, indeed, trying to outspend Labour, however. But they cannot rest on their laurels. On housing, for instance, Hammond must ‘do far more’. Scrapping stamp duty altogether would be one such move that would shake-up the housing market, helping young buyers in particular. ‘A general approach of cutting taxes across the board, financed by spending restraint, would assist everyone by spurring growth’.

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