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This is the best summary I could come up with:
However, Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “If the chancellor was hoping March’s figures would provide more scope for tax cuts at a fiscal event later this year, he will have been disappointed.”
Cara Pacitti, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, the think tank focused on lower income households, said that the latest figures suggested there were “no signs of extra wriggle room” for any pre-election Budget.
A general election has to be held before the end of January 2025, and there has been speculation the government will try to cut taxes again later this year before voters head to the polling stations.
The ONS also noted that these are the initial estimates of public sector finances for last financial year, and figures will be revised over the coming months.
That is the equivalent of 98.3% of the size of the UK’s economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), remaining at levels last seen in the early 1960s, the ONS said.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: "Years of Conservative chaos has left Britain with spiralling taxes and mortgages, all whilst borrowing remains out of control.
The original article contains 630 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Weird how military spending is perfectly fine and protected from any cuts by the deficit hawks.
BBC is peddling neoliberal junk economics.
Presumably you’re implying that we should cut military spending? Given what’s actually happening in the world, a prospective Trump presidency and what that means for NATO, what is the alternative you are suggesting?
Yes. Military is a parasitic sector where most of the money ends up in the hands of defence contractors in the US. Nothing productive going on there.
Also my point was not just against miliary spending but that military spending is always spared from austerity. See Milei government buying American fighter jets while claiming to “have no money”. Or “bankrupt” Greece getting weapons from Germany while cutting welfare costing a fraction of that.
Well I don’t think cutting military spending is going to appeal to any sensible policy makers right now. Geopolitically at the moment that would be a rather foolish thing to do.
This doesn’t excuse governments from spending on other things, however.
