Much of his hand has already been revealed. The net-zero strategy and the Treasury’s accompanying report show where most of the so-called “new money” will be headed when he takes to his feet in the commons on Wednesday. The plans amount to a £26bn government investment in a “green industrial revolution” and will support 190,000 jobs by 2025, and 440,000 by 2030, according to government ministers.
Net zero will be extremely tough on the public finances unless there is a shift in the way goods and services at taxed in the economy, a separate Treasury analysis found. It was full of signals that showed a negative view of increasing public borrowing, too.
Phasing road taxes on petrol and diesel cars could leave a £37bn black hole in the Budget unless “new sources” are found it said. Going green will mean a “significant and permanent fiscal pressure” on the UK’s finances.
Simply, the message was: net zero is a good reason for no net giveaways on at the Budget. “We’ve had our whack,” an official at the business department told The Independent.
It also follows a decision to quell the risk of Tory backbench rebellion by rushing through a rise in national insurance contributions ahead of the Conservative Party conference.
Treasury insiders are playing down traditional expectations for major rabbits pulled from hats. There will be no grand reform of business rates, they say. Nor will there be a clear pathway for shifting the health and social care levy towards social care, the move that is meant to occur after an initial drive to ease NHS backlogs in the wake of the pandemic.
This story is from the October 23, 2021 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 23, 2021 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Palmer illness could rule him out against Arsenal
Cole Palmer is a major doubt for tonight’s Premier League encounter with Arsenal after the Chelsea forward missed yesterday’s training with illness.
Clough would be disgusted by Forest's serial whinging
If the two highest points in Nottingham Forest’s history occurred in Munich and Madrid in 1979 and 1980 respectively, one of the lower moments occurred at Goodison Park in 2024.
Antony's gloating shows.just how clueless United are
The majority of Manchester United’s players were almost too embarrassed to celebrate such an undignified victory at Wembley.
Turbulence that won't make viewers stay in their seats
Shows set 40,000ft in the air usually provide plenty of drama but it’s a bumpy ride for ITV’s Red Eye’, says Louis Chilton
STUFF AND ONSENS
As Shogun’, the historical drama set in ancient Japan, rapidly becomes the biggest television hit of the year, Nicole Vassell visits some of the real-life locations that inspired the show
It's not just the heartbreak, it's wasting the ‘baby years'
On her new album, Taylor Swift nails the specific grief of breakups for women in their thirties, writes Helen Coffey
I'm confused about rights relating to the rail strike
Taxpayer subsidies are running at £2.8bn annually on top of the normal support.
Heard the one about eight friends who walked into a bar and bought a racehorse?
The story of Showtime is a sporting thriller captured on TV, as Zoé Beaty talks to those who found meaning in a mare
Burning issue: why Indian men are setting fire to pants
‘Anti-male policies’ and women-centric gender-biased laws’ are stirring controversy but Shahana Yasmin says the claims of male campaigners don’t reflect the reality of women’s lives
Head of Israeli intelligence quits over 7 October failure
The head of Israel’s military intelligence has resigned over the failures surrounding the 7 October terror attack by Hamas, becoming the first senior figure to step down.