What is the world coming to? A Conservative government that cut taxes, stimulates the economy and encourages businesses to grow?
A government that says yes to fracking, so we can be less impacted by the global cost of energy? A government that is using the tax system to incentivise home ownership, particularly for first time buyers?
A government which reverses an increase in national insurance which is a tax on jobs and? And cuts a planned rise in corporation tax, which is a tax on investment? A government which scraps caps on bonus payments for high-flyers in finance so that successful people are encouraged to come to the UK, stay here and pay their taxes in this country?
For the first time in a decade, we've actually got a Conservative government. Be still my beating heart.
Let's be clear, this budget is one hell of a gamble. We are effectively borrowing billions to bring down inflation, which will be the consequence of support with energy bills and we are borrowing more billions, to reduce the tax burden on hard-working Brits and businesses.
The Institute for fiscal studies are deeply uncomfortable with this policy and their chief Paul Johnson has said:
“Today, the Chancellor announced the biggest package of tax cuts in 50 years without even a semblance of an effort to make the public finance numbers add up. Instead, the plan seems to be to borrow large sums at increasingly expensive rates, put government debt on an unsustainable rising path, and hope that we get better growth. This marks such a dramatic change in the direction of economic policy-making that some of the longer-serving cabinet ministers might be worried about getting whiplash”.
Kwasi Kwarteng set out a mini-budget to Parliament.
Aaron Chown
Ouch. However, we've learnt a bit about experts over the last couple of years haven't we? As with the junk modelling that we saw during the pandemic and the disastrous policies of lockdown as recommended by the mainstream scientific community, so mainstream financial experts have had a recent habit of being wrong too. It was financial experts who predicted Armageddon after Brexit – a run on the pound, a recession, a flight of capital and a housing market crash. Didn’t happen.
And the governor of the bank of England, Andrew Bailey, seriously underestimated the threat of inflation almost two years ago. He could have raised rates early, to get on top of prices, but he didn’t.
Experts, eh? And now the doom and gloom financial experts, think that this government’s dash for growth is a race to the bottom.
So Liz Truss and her impressive new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, have shown today enormous political and economic courage.
The message, is that they believe in Britain. They believe in our businesses and they believe in our incredible people, the millions who go out to work every day and contribute to the unstoppable juggernaut that is the British economy. The mainstream experts squeal about the extra boring. But what are we talking about here.
£40 billion to put a tiger in the tank and fire up the engines of the British economy? To create economic growth with which to pay for the public services upon which we all rely?
Where were these financial experts when we were borrowing half a trillion quid in what is now clear to me, was a failed attempt to stop a seasonal respiratory virus.
Half a trillion quid to pay healthy people to stay at home and to close once viable businesses, for a potentially nasty virus, yes, but one with a largely vanishing threat to human life.
One of the top medics in the world, world renowned infectious disease Professor, Jay Bhattacharia, of Stanford University, has called lockdowns the biggest public health mistake in history.
Well lockdowns were the worst investment is in history too. 34 billion wasted on a test and trace scheme that was never going to stop a bug like this one, and the billions wasted on PPE, nightingale hospitals, and the billions lost on bounce back loans and other handouts, that will never be repaid.
Britain faces a cost of living crisis.
House of Commons
Plenty of establishment broadcasters today, are up in arms, about the borrowing. Except that all of the main channels – you know who I'm talking about - were the biggest cheerleaders of the ruinous Covid measures, just a few short months ago.
Some of us, pointed out the appalling and needless economic damage that was happening at the time, but we were the bad people.
Remember? This budget, is a rejection of the institutional pessimism, that is now rooted within this country. We've become addicted to bad news and have indulged in the narrative that Britain is a basket case, or as a national radio presenter recently said, close to being a failed state. Do me a favour.
Talking Britain down, has become a pastime among the metropolitan elite. It will never happen on my watch.
But we now have a bold prime minister and a bold chancellor that actually believe in this country and want to see it prosper. I wish them well. We all need them to succeed.
Mark Dolan has shown his support for Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget.
Image: GB News
The greatest casualty of this budget is the creeping socialism, which has turned us into a big spending, high taxation, low growth economy. Which is crap for everyone, particularly the poorest in our society.
Don't forget it was the drastic reduction in tax in the 80s under Margaret Thatcher, and her inspirational chancellor Nigel Lawson, that led to an economic boom, and the extension of financial opportunity to everyone in our society.
The top rate of tax was reduced from 83% in 1979 to 40% by 1988 and the basic rate went from 33% in to 25% in 88, and the economy sky rocketed.
Working class people started businesses, enjoyed an unprecedented disposable income and were able to buy the council houses and flats in which they lived.
The 80s were a decade of aspiration, in which we grew Britain into what it would become today, because for all of our current challenges, we are still the fifth biggest economy in the world, with the lowest unemployment in the G7 and we still enjoy an enviable rate at which to borrow.
This government are right to go for growth, because a healthy, growing economy, benefits everyone.
A high national income allows us to have the great health service, the great police force, the great defence, the great schools and the great welfare support, we value so highly.
And to be fair to New Labour they understood that too and kept taxes low and supported big earners to grow their wealth, in the national interest. Tony Blair for his sins, was aspirational too.
And what happened? A decade of sustained growth.
Go figure. We've got to wean ourselves off the crack cocaine of tax-and-spend, an addiction of which both labour and more recently tory governments have been guilty.
This country’s got lots of problems, we all know that. But by rolling the dice and taking a punt on the enterprise of the British people and putting money back in their pocket, and attracting filthy rich people to live and spend their money HERE, Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have made it abundantly clear what their focus will be over the next two years.
It's the economy stupid. This mini budget, was big on ideas and it's my prediction it will set Britain on a path to recovery, tapping into the opportunities that Brexit has to offer and may just seal the deal for Liz Truss at the next election.
Even beer and wine will be spared the taxman’s avaricious clutches. So let’s hope this gamble pays off. Here’s to growth. I'll drink to that.