Budget Day: The good, the bad and the ugly |
It seems as if we’ve been speculating about the contents of today’s Budget since the moment Rachel Reeves sat down after delivering her first one, just over a year ago.
Since then, unemployment has risen (every month) and growth rates have slumped quarter-to-quarter from 0.7 per cent to 0.3 per cent to 0.1 per cent. So, the stakes could not be higher.
On Monday night, a bullish Reeves told Labour MPs “I will not let them beat me” (she was talking about the media, and the Tories) adding “I’ll be there next year and I’ll be back the year after that.” How reassuring this mantra turns out to be will depend on