In mid-March 2024, the then Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves gave the Mais lecture to the good and the great of the City. In it she set out her broad fiscal framework, including goals to: • Balance the current budget, i.e. match day-to-day government expenditure with revenues; and • Have a single fiscal event (i.e. Budget)…
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The first Budget from a Labour government since March 2010, and the first ever from a female Chancellor, proved to be the defining event that had been widely anticipated. From the moment in late July when Rachel Reeves unveiled her “£22 billion black hole” and announced means-testing for the winter fuel payment, it was clear…
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It has come to pass that the details of the Chancellor’s Budget are often leaked well in advance of the actual speech taking place. As such, it is often the case that there is little that catches the eye or causes us to sit up and take notice. This Spring budget falls into that category,…
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The early trailers in January 2024 for what is probably Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s last ‘fiscal event’ featured Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promising “more to come” on tax cuts. At the time, Mr Sunak’s bullish viewpoint puzzled some commentators because the Treasury had yet to receive even an initial assessment of the UK’s financial health from…
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The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robertson, faced some difficult decisions in drawing up her first Budget. Inflation had taken its toll on spending, to which had been added new commitments such as a promised council tax freeze in 2024/25. The situation was exacerbated by the UK government’s decisions in the…
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Jeremy Hunt’s second Autumn Statement was set against a much less financially turbulent background than his first. However, politics still loomed large with a likely election in the next 12 months prompting calls for tax cuts from within the Conservative party. Until recently the Chancellor had attempted to stall such demands with warnings of “difficult…
Continue ReadingSimon Lewis joined the Discretionary Portfolio team at Thorntons Investments in May 2023 supporting its growth strategy in discretionary funds under management across a range of individual client and trust portfolios. Simon brings a wealth of experience to his role as Portfolio Manager with almost 20 years working as a stockbroker, private banker and investment…
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Shortly after his arrival in 11 Downing Street, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a rather severe haircut to the amount of capital gains individuals can realise before creating a tax liability. Since then, there have been further changes to pension allowances, and this has undoubtedly caught the attention of savers and investors alike. It is the…
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The first Budget since October 2021 was widely expected to be an uneventful affair. Five months ago, the then new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, presented an Autumn Statement that was more of a Budget than many formal Budgets. Not only did his Autumn Statement result in a greater increase in the tax burden than most Budgets…
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The Scottish Budget arrived towards the end of a busy week for economic news and the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, set out “four important factors” in arriving at the measures announced in the 2023/24 Scottish Budget. Subject to these major constraints, Mr Swinney set out three priorities for “a different path” from that taken…
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