Today’s political headlines follow yesterday’s Autumn Budget and cover Hammond’s spending, Labour’s criticisms, the Brexit ‘double deal dividend’ and the digital services tax.<\/p>\n
Hammond\u2019s \u2018giveaway\u2019 Budget<\/span> Labour criticises Budget for \u2018broken promises\u2019<\/span> Hammond promises Brexit \u2018double deal dividend\u2019<\/span> Te<\/span>ch firms targeted with digital services tax<\/span> \u00a33bn boost for Universal Credit<\/span> Budget welcomed by business groups<\/span> Hammond kills off PFI<\/span> Unpopular measures hidden in the detail<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0calls<\/a>\u00a0yesterday\u2019s Budget \u2018the biggest giveaway\u2019 since the Conservatives came to power in 2010 as Hammond used his windfall from higher growth and lower deficit forecasts to ease austerity with \u00a3103bn of extra spending. Headline measures include tax cuts for 32m workers and funding for the NHS spending increase announced earlier in the year, as well as emergency cash injections for schools, freezes on beer and spirit duty and more money for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Labour has attacked claims by the Chancellor that austerity is ending, with Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell warning that benefit cuts are continuing and Jeremy Corbyn suggesting that the Budget was full of \u2018broken promises\u2019. The Resolution Foundation thinktank notes that changes to income tax thresholds will give the poorest families \u00a330, compared to \u00a3410 for the richest.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Hammond promised a \u2018double deal dividend\u2019 if the UK reaches a Brexit deal with the EU as the economy would benefit from the \u2018end of uncertainty\u2019. However, he warned that an emergency Budget in the spring was possible if the outlook \u2018changes materially\u2019 and he would take \u2018whatever action is necessary\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Hammond is targeting US tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon with a digital services tax, as the UK can no longer wait for a global consensus on the route forward. He expects the tax to raise more than \u00a3400m a year, but the Office of Budget Responsibility believes that the major tech companies might pay just \u00a330m each.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that almost \u00a33bn was spent on a rescue package for Universal Credit, reversing over half of the cuts made to the benefit by George Osborne. As a result, the paper calls Hammond \u2018Mr Increditable\u2019. The Chancellor claimed that 2.4m families would benefit from \u00a3630 more a year.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Financial Times,<\/em>\u00a0the Budget was welcomed by business groups. The CBI said it offered \u2018significant support for investment\u2019 and the Federation of Small Businesses said that it was Hammond\u2019s \u2018first small-business friendly Budget\u2019, particularly welcoming the freezing of the VAT threshold. However, business groups have also warned of the continuing uncertainty caused by Brexit.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Hammond has committed to no longer use PFI schemes following the collapse of Carillion earlier this year, with existing schemes to be managed by \u2018centres of best practice\u2019. According to the paper, the Treasury is looking at new funding models, such as a national infrastructure bank.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0reveals<\/a>\u00a013 details from the Budget it says Hammond \u2018won\u2019t want you to read\u2019. They include the poorest in society not benefitting, a new plastic tax taking four years to introduce, a six-month delay to cutting stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals and a tax on vaping.<\/p>\n