The chancellor is promising “smart tax cuts” in the UK Budget next Wednesday — but I’m hoping he won’t make any dumb moves.
I’m Claer Barrett, the FT’s consumer editor and host of the Money Clinic podcast. I’ve lost count of the number of fiscal statements I’ve covered during my career at the FT, but what Jeremy Hunt pulls out of his red box next Wednesday will be a critical moment for our personal finances as well as UK politics.
So you’ll be pleased to hear that I will be guest editing a guide to the Budget exclusively on FT Edit, showcasing the best of the FT’s Budget news coverage and commentary.
With a general election looming, the chancellor is under huge pressure to cut taxes — but he has very little headroom to do so meaningfully.
January’s cut to national insurance was welcome, but frozen income tax thresholds rendered it barely noticeable. Funding that cost the chancellor a pretty penny, yet it hasn’t boosted the Conservative party’s poll ratings.
If we see a further cut on Wednesday, how will this be paid for? As NHS waiting lists grow longer, cutting public services to fund tax cuts risks a backlash. And recent history reminds us why borrowing to finance tax cuts is (ahem) not very sensible.
Want to sort your financial life out?
Learn how to make smarter money decisions and supercharge your personal finances with Claer Barrett’s six-part newsletter series. From saving and investing to property and pay rises, she’ll inspire you to get more confident with your money. Search for “Sort Your Financial Life Out with Claer Barrett” to sign up. For any issues, please email ftedit@ft.com.
So which groups of voters will the chancellor favour?
Pensioners have long been a shoo-in, and prime minister Rishi Sunak has been making positive noises this week about the future of the Triple Lock.
But what about parents? The jury is still out on childcare reforms announced at the last Budget, but there are hopes Hunt could ease the “parent tax” by reforming the clawback of child benefit from working parents earning over £50,000.
Boosting the property market by cutting stamp duty is a tried-and-tested Tory party ruse, but I’d like to see the chancellor go further and remove the property price cap on the Lifetime Isa for the under-40s.
Finally, we know Hunt is eager to boost the fortunes of the UK stock market. Isa investors may well get an extra incentive to own UK-listed stocks. However, restricting the £20,000 Isa allowance to UK shares (as some fund managers are arguing) would be a dumb move.
With the government keen to offload its remaining stake in NatWest, we could also get an announcement for armchair investors emulating the “Tell Sid” marketing campaign when British Gas was privatised in the 1980s. We’ll have to wait until Wednesday to “Ask Jez” for the answers — but I look forward to sharing my insights with you then.
Our favourite pieces
• My aha moment of the week came courtesy of this fascinating deep-dive into those Biscoff biscuits that suddenly seem to be everywhere. It turns out that the resolutely dull (opinion my own) biscuits are enjoying an unlikely resurgence thanks to the power of social media and the single-mindedness of a pair of school friends determined to turn Biscoff into the next Oreo cookie. It’s a happy tale, with a healthy dose of hard-nosed business nous at its centre.
Hannah Rock
Deputy editor, FT Edit (@HannahRockFT)
• There are some stories you are just compelled to read, and this week’s two-part investigation into Russia’s secret plans for using nuclear weapons was among them. Just one interesting tidbit is the relatively low bar Moscow has set for using tactical nukes, including preventing Russian forces from losing battles and making the navy “more effective”. There are also some eye-opening insights into Russia’s relationship with China that show it’s not all “eternal friendship” between the two.
David Hindley
Researcher, FT Edit (@DavidHindleyFT)
Our favourite fact of the week …
Stones have a notable role in Chinese cookery. The 12th-century poet Lin Hong included in his cookbook a recipe for “stone soup” in which lichen-covered pebbles were boiled in water to give a flavour “sweeter than snails”. More recently, a street-food craze for sucking stones after stir-frying them in chili oil attracted media attention worldwide. From The strange marvel of China’s stone feasts
Something to listen to
Behind the money — Open AI is one of the world’s fastest-growing companies. But even without being sued by Elon Musk, is the company’s growth sustainable?
Working It — Offices life inevitably comes with a healthy dose of politics. Gossip, scheming and rumors, this episode of our Working It podcast is an essential guide to navigating it all.
Life & Art — This week our culture podcast has an intriguing interview with Samara Joy, one of only two jazz musicians to win a Grammy for best new artist.
Something to watch
India has committed itself to a “just transition” to greener sources of energy. But a lot of India’s economy is dependent on fossil fuels and the industry employs a sizable chunk of India’s population. Coal is especially important to the country, accounting for three quarters of the country’s power generation. Can India ween itself off coal without destroying the livelihoods of millions of its citizens?
Talk to us
We love feedback. Let us know what themes you’re curious about and what features you want to see. Email us at ftedit@ft.com.
