Chancellor On The Today Program Now.

[mikey4444]

Interesting listening to him desperately trying to justify why the Tories have abandoned a pre-Election promise about NICs

[Tilly2]

What's he saying?

[youngmafbog]

I couldnt agree more, total shame on Hammond and May (She must have known).

The shame also falls on Corbyn for failing to hit an open goal though. Labour really need to step up to stop this.

Let us just hope the back benchers have the balls to rebel against this. Hammond is a slippery character and needs putting in his place.

And no, I have never liked him.

[youngmafbog]

It matters not what he is saying, he has broken an election pledge. Using weasel words or spinning it just makes it worse.

It just shows the utter contempt this man holds the electorate in. And May, just when I was warming to her.

Well I guess there wont be any calls from Tories for a snap election now.

[mikey4444]

YMB....we appear to be having one of our rare moments of complete agreement......how refreshing !

[Tilly2]

I wonder how he was worming his way out.....if at all.

[mikey4444]

Tilly....he just waffled away, as usual !

[Tilly2]

Like they all do, Mikey.

[youngmafbog]

Happens from time to time Mickey :-)

[ToraToraTora]

do you really want a government that cannot react to circumstances mikey?

[mikey4444]

TTT.....No, I want a Government that keeps its pre-Election promises. The money that this new tax hike will raise could have been raised elsewhere.

Instead, we have to rely on a back-bench revolt in order to get Hammond to honour that Tory promise, and we may yet see that before the day is out.

[Guilbert53]

Unlike Labour last time they were in power (Blair, Brown etc) who put nothing about immigration in their manifesto then had an almost open door policy on immigration letting hundreds of thousands in.

[Togo]

Is it a rise in N.I. contributions, or is it ensuring that everyone working, pays the same to enable the NHS and Pension pay out to be based on equal benefit= equal contributions? A bit "socialist" for my liking, but hey ho. Once we have established parity in contributions perhaps we need to cast a gimlet eye on who we lavish our common wealth on.

[sunny-dave]

It's probably a 'broken pledge' - despite some desperate semantic wibbling - but it is a long overdue crackdown on a ridiculous inequality between employed and self-employed workers.

[mikey4444]

Dave....I like that word wibbling...I may use it myself from time to time !

[Gromit]

Guilbert53

It is probably worse though to put in your manifesto that you will reduce immigration to tens of thousands, and then instead to double the amount that you let in.

[New Judge]

“No, I want a Government that keeps its pre-Election promises.”

You might be in for a bit of a wait then. I've been waiting all my adult life and still innocently trot to the polling station believing I will receive everything I've been promised in return for my vote :-)

[New Judge]

And I meant to add that expectations are a moveable feast.

I fully expected, when I voted to leave the EU, that the politicians who promised me that the government would act on my decision would do so. I was told I was being ridiculous to hold such an expectation when I commented that the principle villain, instead of keeping his (fairly straightforward) promise, had chucked his toys from the pram before 9am the morning after the vote.

[hereIam]

Horrid, smug man !

[mikey4444]

Partial u-turn....new NIC contributions for self-employed will now not take place until the Autumn. So the ball has been kicked into the long grass.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39227559

[ichkeria]

In the grand scheme of things this is not a major shift.
Wealthier people will be worse off and less wealthy people will be better off. I am not sure it even raises a mint of money, either.
The handling of it has been catastrophic tho: and you do have to wonder - if a goverment with no opposition can make such a mess of a simple budget, what chance of getting Brxit neoitiations right