{"id":145525,"date":"2024-03-12T12:31:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T11:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=145525"},"modified":"2024-03-12T12:58:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T11:58:53","slug":"spring-budget-briefing-will-hunts-boring-budget-make-an-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/spring-budget-briefing-will-hunts-boring-budget-make-an-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Budget Briefing: Will Hunt\u2019s \u2018boring budget\u2019 make an impact?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Vuelio teamed up with the Trade Association Forum (TAF) for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Vuelio-Spring-Budget-Summary-and-Stakeholder-Reaction-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spring Budget<\/a> Briefing at Space14 the day after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt\u2019s announcement to discuss its impact on businesses and also the next <a href=\"https:\/\/email.vuelio.com\/general-election-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General Election<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hosted by TAF\u2019s CEO Emily Wallace, our panel included <em>(pictured from left to right)<\/em>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shazia Ejaz, campaign director, Recruitment &amp; Employment Confederation (REC)<\/li>\n<li>Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs, (FSB) Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)<\/li>\n<li>Kelly Scott, VP of Account Management, Vuelio<\/li>\n<li>George Dibb, associate director for economic policy and head of the Centre for Economic Justice, The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)<\/li>\n<li>Kevin Schofield, political editor, HuffPost<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-145532 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-panel.jpg\" alt=\"Spring Budget Briefing panel\" width=\"760\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-panel.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-panel-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-panel-705x399.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-panel-500x283.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Extra insight on polling data was shared by polling and research expert Andrew Hawkins, CEO of Whitestone Insight.<\/p>\n<p>Before we get into the panel\u2019s thoughts on the specifics of the announcement &#8211; let\u2019s get to the question many will have been asking\u2026<\/p>\n<h3>Will the Spring Budget have helped the Conservative Party\u2019s prospects for the next General Election?<\/h3>\n<p>Not really, was the feeling of the panel, as well as the general mood of the audience in the room. This echoed how many of the UK\u2019s major press outlets covered Hunt\u2019s Spring Budget, with panelist Kevin Schofield summing it up as \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/analysis-may-election-chances-recede-after-jeremy-hunts-boring-budget_uk_65e89143e4b0c65f1094a8d6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">boring<\/a>\u2019 in his reporting.<\/p>\n<p>Pollster Andrew Hawkins reinforced this reaction:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-145530 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Andrew-Hawkins-speaking.jpg\" alt=\"Andrew Hawkins speaking at the Vuelio Spring Budget Briefing for 2024\" width=\"760\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Andrew-Hawkins-speaking.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Andrew-Hawkins-speaking-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Andrew-Hawkins-speaking-705x399.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Andrew-Hawkins-speaking-500x283.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Was yesterday\u2019s event ever going to be a game changer? No. This was not a blockbuster.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Andrew added that a decision to hold the General Election in May would be \u2018political self-immolation\u2019 on the part of the Tories:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s a bigger hill to climb for Labour. But climb it I believe they will.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Referring to past voters who would pick the Liberal Democrats if unswayed by the Conservatives or Labour, Andrew shared the belief \u2018that model is breaking down,\u2019 with Reform and Green likely to scoop those votes up.<\/p>\n<p>The decreasing level of under-45s planning to vote Conservative was characterised by Andrew as an \u2018existential threat\u2019 to the party, adding his view that \u2018in a generation, they will be redundant\u2019.<\/p>\n<h3>What did the Chancellor forget? The workforce<\/h3>\n<p>REC\u2019s Shazia Ejaz felt that there wasn\u2019t a \u2018clear enough arrowhead on growth\u2019 &#8211; especially when it came to the vital role of skill development.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We believe that central to any growth is people &#8211; workers. There wasn\u2019t very much said on skills. There needs to be more investment.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Context to consider is that we\u2019ve had a really resilient labour market given the pandemic. There was a demand for people that kept employers hiring &#8211; that has tailed off.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>George added to the viewpoint that workers themselves weren\u2019t centred in Hunt\u2019s announcements on public sector performance. The Chancellor confirmed investment in AI to improve efficacy in public services, including the NHS, and that cuts would also boost performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think it\u2019s magic thinking that cutting budgets will improve performance &#8211; the low-hanging fruit of public sector cuts is already gone.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We remember the last time the Government tried to do that,\u2019 added Shazia on investment in technologies. \u2018These things aren\u2019t easy to do, and they cost more money\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Craig countered that the Government\u2019s plans could work in some sectors: \u2018The civil service has only gotten bigger and bigger. Without taking these kinds of decisions, you get inertia.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>The mood in the journalist lobby?<\/h3>\n<p>HuffPost\u2019s Kevin Schofield shared more on what happens at the post-announcement \u2018huddle\u2019, calling the process this year \u2018quite dull\u2019 compared to times before social media.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m old enough to remember when coverage wasn\u2019t taken over by Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was mostly pre-briefed this year &#8211; there was nothing for the Chancellor to announce that we didn\u2019t know.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was a rambling, ill-judged speech, I thought.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Vuelio\u2019s Kelly Scott tackled the influence of new media during this election cycle &#8211; namely, GB News.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-145531 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kelly-speaking.jpg\" alt=\"Kelly Scott on Spring Budget Briefing panel\" width=\"760\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kelly-speaking.jpg 760w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kelly-speaking-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kelly-speaking-705x399.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kelly-speaking-500x283.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Left-wing media tended to dominate the online conversation after the Budget, but we did see a rise for GB News. It\u2019s seen as an untrusted news source, but had an important part in the conversation regardless.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>For more on this, download the Vuelio and Pulsar report \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Spring-Budget-Audience-Reaction-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spring Budget: Audience Reaction<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n<h3>Name checks for stakeholders<\/h3>\n<p>Kelly talked through Hunt\u2019s careful acknowledgement of stakeholders, counting 12 name-checks &#8211; \u2018along with some bizarre ones &#8211; Idris Elba, Keira Knightley? The arts stakeholders were gushing\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Away from Hollywood and back towards day to day challenges in the UK, stakeholders were less excited &#8211; particularly those working in the anti-poverty sector:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The anti-poverty community mentioned by Hunt came out firmly that the packages there to \u201chelp\u201d were just more sticking plasters\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Craig backed this up: \u2018We are positive about some of the specifics, but we are not gushing\u2019.<\/p>\n<h3>What happens next?<\/h3>\n<p>Despite the pre-Budget feeling that this would likely be the last fiscal event before the coming General Election, some on the panel believed there could be more to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think there will be two events,\u2019 said Craig.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Take special care with planning your summer holidays,\u2019 added Kevin.<\/p>\n<p><em>Get a full summary of the Spring Budget 2024, including stakeholder reaction, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Vuelio-Spring-Budget-Summary-and-Stakeholder-Reaction-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this downloadable report<\/a> from the Vuelio Political team. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vuelio teamed up with the Trade Association Forum (TAF) for a Spring Budget Briefing at Space14 the day after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt\u2019s announcement to discuss its impact on businesses and also the next General Election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":145527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7383,7272,3725,3729,7271],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145525"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145535,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145525\/revisions\/145535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}