Political Headlines – Budget: Brexit, Universal Credit, mental health and roads

Today’s political headlines are dominated by the Budget, with warnings about a no-deal Brexit derailing spending plans, Labour’s call for the Budget to halt Universal Credit, new spending on roads, broadband, and trees and a funding boost for mental health. 

No-deal Brexit will put Budget spending plans at risk, Hammond warns
The Daily Telegraph reports that Philip Hammond is to warn that the tens of billions of pounds of new spending commitments announced in today’s Budget will be put at risk by a no-deal Brexit. He warned that if this happened, he would have to hold an emergency budget in order to set out a ‘different strategy for the future’, transforming the UK into a Singapore-style low-tax, low-tariff economy. The Sun adds that Hammond is also set to announce the release of a new 50p coin to commemorate Brexit which will bear the motto ‘Friendship With All Nations’.

Labour calls for Budget to halt Universal Credit rollout
The Guardian says that Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell will urge MPs to vote against the Budget unless it commits to halt the rollout of Universal Credit. He accused Hammond of ‘callous complacency’ for not acknowledging the problems with the benefit. As the paper notes, there have been hints that extra money for Universal Credit is to be announced.

New spending on roads, broadband and trees
The BBC reports that the Budget will contain a range of spending on roads. Highways England is to receive £25.5bn between 2020 and 2025 for major road projects, mostly from vehicle excise duty, with a further £3.5bn for councils to spend on major local routes. Other announcements include £420m for potholes and £150m to improve junctions. The Daily Mail says that Hammond plans a £250m fund to connect rural schools and libraries to super-fast broadband. The Times adds that a £60m plan to plant new trees is also set to be announced.

£2bn funding boost for mental health
The Times reports that the Budget will contain a £2bn funding increase for mental health services as part of the NHS funding settlement. The new money will fund measures including mental health units in schools, specialist crisis teams for young people, mental health support teams in A&Es and a new fleet of mental health ambulances.

Tech firms to be given deadline to pay more tax
The Financial Times says that Philip Hammond is to set a deadline for large technology companies to pay more tax in the UK. The paper does not expect him to announce a digital sales tax, but claims that he will set out a timetable for action and will make it clear that the UK will act unilaterally if there is no international agreement on the issue.

‘Dutch-style’ pension reforms to be consulted on
The Daily Telegraph expects the Budget to contain a consultation on ‘Dutch-style’ pension reforms, in which thousands of members pay into a single pot. The ‘collective defined contribution’ schemes reduce risk by pooling incomes, can secure higher payments, and give members a ‘target’ for retirement income rather than a guaranteed level.

Hammond to target national insurance paid by self-employed
In an exclusive, The Sun hits out at the news that Philip Hammond is to go ahead with plans to target self-employed workers who pay themselves through private companies, avoiding having to pay national insurance contributions. Backbench MP Steve Baker warns that this would ‘destroy entrepreneurial spirit’ in the country.

Town centres ‘have to change’, Hammond says
According to the Daily Mail, Philip Hammond said yesterday that the rise of Internet shopping meant that ‘our high streets have to change’ and become ‘smaller’, with the areas around them redeveloped for housing. He will announce a £650m Future High Streets Fund and a £900m cut in business rates for independent retailers.

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