1p off fuel duty from 6pm tonight
Fuel duty escalator cancelled for this parliament
'fair fuel stabiliser' to be introduced
Oil companies to pay extra tax on profits when oil price above $75 a barrel
Personal tax allowance up to £8105 April 2012
Corporation tax done by 2% April 2011
10% reduction in inheritance tax if part of the estate goes to charity
Shared equity scheme to help first time buyers
2011 Growth forecast revised fro 2.1% down to 1.7%

Think that is still wildly optimistic be lucky if it is 0.7%

Ed Miliband's response was fairly flat, save for this:



Which made me laugh.

I agree, I suspect that we could officially be back in recession for the first three months.

Tories full of crap again and the LibDems staying very quiet.

The increase to basic allowance was one of their policies, so they're crowing about how they're getting their manifesto pledges through as part of the coalition. Every student, lecturer and University employee in Britain is giving them 'a hard stare'.

Jon

Longer term the personal allowances changes are good but the problem is that if you do not have a job you do not benefit. Also by linking the increases to CPI the long term impacts will be that you pay even more as allowances rise slower than your real rate of inflation. Fiscal drag in other words.

I'm failing to see any problem at all with that.

I don't see the point in that?

In the past week the price (in Leeds) has gone up by about 4p a litre.

What good is it taking off 1p a litre?

That saves me about 70p a month. Woop de doo.

Apart from all the benefits you already get when you haven't got a job you mean? Colour me less than sympathetic.

Jon

It makes for a nice headline.


As Paul (I think) tweeted - 'Good news, fuel prices reduced to the level of last week'. It'll save me about 1.50 a month, which frankly I won't even notice. Even assuming the high rate on inflation doesn't swallow that meagre sum elsewhere in a month or two.

Jon

I can understand to an extent but if you become become unemployed you are not protected against the cost of living increases. So many think that kicking the poor is acceptable because it will never happen to them. It is as moronic as voting for tax cuts for the super rich in the vain hope that you will be there one day.

you could get a job? Though I would worry about those coast of livng increases, do they lap up your spare money or is it a tidal affect that really washes you out?

Um. I haven't had an actual pay rise in five years. I'm not protected against the cost of living increases either, and nobody is giving me a wodge of money just for existing.


This is in no sense 'kicking the poor'. It will mean several (probably tens) of thousands of low paid people stop paying any income tax at all. It will give everyone on minimum wage extra money in their pocket.. It's being financed by lowering the threshold for the 50% income tax bracket. It's the exact opposite of 'kicking the poor'.


It's being paid for by a tax rise for the super rich. Jesus, look, I'm no friend of the Tories but you're just wrong about this. In a pretty major way. The only thing that's 'moronic' about this is you contorting a tax break for the poor into an attack on the unemployed.

If you want to knock the Tory tax policies, try starting with them dropping corporate taxation by 2% for no good reason at all.

Jon

That was me