A spring without a Budget is a bit like one without the Grand National or the Boat Race. It doesn’t feel right. The sight of the Chancellor’s red box, regardless of its contents, has always instilled in me a frisson of elation as one contemplates the warmer, sunnier months ahead. We do, however, have the consolation of a spring statement, which Phillip Hammond will deliver next Tuesday.
What can we expect? Very little, if the briefings are anything to go by. Hammond has let it be known that the occasion will not mirror the autumn statements of the Brown, Darling and Osborne years, which were used as a second opportunity to jack up taxes or come up with a handout. In some years it was the autumn statement, not the Budget, which carried the more significant fiscal changes. Hammond, however, has said that he will not be making changes to tax rates or unveiling more spending – it will be more of a straightforward update on the public finances.
But is he really going to resist the opportunity for a giveaway or two, given that the outlook for economic growth has improved since the Budget in November? It now looks as if the economy grew by 1.8
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in