World Bitcoin Association Files for Bankruptcy Amid Landlord Legal Fight
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST A New York-based bitcoin company affiliated with the Bitcoin Center NYC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after months of legal wrangling. |
Apple Suspends Bitcoin Game SaruTobi from iOS Store
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST SaruTobi creator Christian Moss has confirmed that the iOS game has been temporarily removed from Apple's App store. |
Budget 2015: Osborne introduces tax-free savings and help-to-buy Isa - live updates
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The Guardian, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Full coverage of the chancellor’s final budget before the general election
Here is a summary of the key points from Ed Balls’ post-budget briefing.
Social media users have been having fun with this morning’s Treasury photo op: George Osborne's Conga felt a little half-hearted... #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/ybRN1V5P0Q Taxman HT @rafalhirsch RT @RichNeville: Worst Abbey Road tribute ever. pic.twitter.com/NrO8eO5OTi
George Osborne may have sounded confident today, but the bottom line is that the strategy laid out in 2010 has flopped, writes economics editor Larry Elliott: The economy has grown much less than expected, and deficit reduction has been much slower than forecast. Borrowing this year will be £90bn, two-and-a-half times what was pencilled in five years ago. The government’s failure to rein in the deficit means that cuts in public spending – and deep ones at that – will continue for the first three years of the next parliament. Tax increases are also likely. Related: George Osborne talks a good game, but his strategy has been a flop
The Budget includes a section on digital currencies, showing that the government is planning to tighten up the use of bitcoin et al, and also provide more research funding. It says: Digital currencies: The government is today announcing its intention to apply anti- money laundering regulation to digital currency exchanges in the UK, to support innovation and prevent criminal use. The government is also launching a new research initiative which will bring together the research councils, Alan Turing Institute and Digital Catapult with industry in order to address the research opportunities and challenges for digital currency technology, and will increase research funding in this area by £10 million to support this. Finally, the government will work with the British Standards Institution and the digital currency industry to develop voluntary standards for consumer protection. Oh, yeah, and the government is gonna legislate on Bitcoin #Budget2015 #smallprint pic.twitter.com/KuZDfAeQT5 Well, not technically legislate: consider subject to extant legislation. Same result.
Today’s budget didn’t include any fresh measures on individuals who work in the UK but are domiciled abroad for tax reasons. Those “non-doms” will be breathing a sign of relief, says David Kilshaw, head of private client tax at accountancy firm EY, even though the remittance charge paid by long-term residents is going up (as announced in the autumn statement): “The RBC will increase from £50,000 to £60,000 for those resident here for 12 years or more and a new £90,000 charge will be introduced for those who have been here for 17 years. “The new charge may see the rise of the “Boomerang-Dom” - those who leave the UK for a few years to restart their clock in order to benefit from the remittance basis without paying the new higher charges.”
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has just been briefing journalists at Westminster. Picking up on a point we’ve made already (see 4.04pm and 4.21pm) about how Osborne’s cuts anticipate deeper than planned cuts in 2016-17 and 2018-18, Balls said that, if you look at one of the OBR documents, it implies that day to day government spending will fall to its lowest level since 1938. (In other words, we’re back on the Road to Wigan pier.) Here’s the chart in the main OBR report showing how the planned cuts will be deeper than in this parliament. For the next three years, for the NHS, police and defence, these are eye-watering cuts. I don’t think they are deliverable. OBR in Table 1.2 econ supp data shows day to day public spending falls to lowest GDP level since 1938, Balls tells the Lobby @paulwaugh not true - OBR text makes clear it's 1964
Forecasting is a tricky business, especially when it comes to budgets, as the OBR flags up on page 202 of the economic and fiscal outlook.
Savers make up many of the winners from today’s budget, says our Money editor Patrick Collinson. But people who file self-assessment tax returns might become losers without even knowing it, if the move to digital filing goes wrong. “The proposal to scrap the annual tax return may appear to be welcome news, but it could leave taxpayers worse off. “At present over 25% of tax codes are incorrect. Without a mechanism for taxpayers to report their actual income and gains and to claim reliefs due, many taxpayers could end up paying more in tax than is due.” Related: Budget 2015: who are the winners and losers?
George Osborne’s decision to allow pensioners to unlock their annuities could be bad news for people looking to buy their first home. Nick Breton, Head of Direct Line for Business, explains: “People already in retirement can now join the pensions freedom party. Research shows a third of those aged 45 to 64 with a pension would consider accessing these funds to purchase a buy to let property and today’s announcement allows those already retired to follow suit, swapping their annuity for a fixed lump sum they could put into a buy to let investment.
The size of the state is going to contract to its lowest level since 1964 during the next parliament under Osborne’s plans. Relative to the size of the economy, nominal government consumption is forecast to fall from 19.7% of GDP in 2014 to 16.1% of GDP by 2019. This is less of a fall than we forecast in December, but would still leave government consumption as a share of GDP equal to its level in 1964 and would be the joint lowest level in consistent National Accounts data going back to 1948. On a quarterly basis, government consumption falls to 15.9% of GDP at the end of 2018. Government consumption will be back to 1964 level as a share of gdp under #Budget2015 plans, compared with 1930s previously (1/2) The spending back to a share of GDP similar to 1999/2000 figure is total spending (including welfare etc) (2/2) Quite different.
Here is some reaction to the budget from political parties, the TUC and the CBI. From Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader This government has evidently failed in it’s promise to the British people to eradicate the deficit and whilst it took Labour 13 years to double the debt this government has done it in five. Mr Osborne talks about a long-term economic plan, today he pushed all his targets back and created a long grass economic plan. This final Coalition budget offers little hope to the many millions of people across Britain who are struggling to get by. Austerity economics has failed. Incomes are still lower than they were in 2010, household debt is up and inequality continues to plague this country. In the world’s sixth-biggest economy, people should not have to queue at food banks or work in insecure jobs that don’t pay enough to get by on. Today’s measures are a glaring admission by the chancellor that his policy for the North Sea has been wrong and the poor stewardship by the UK Government has had a detrimental impact on our oil and gas sector and the many people who work in the industry. It has taken the Chancellor four years to admit the tax rise he implemented in 2011 was a mistake. A heavy price has been paid for this mismanagement. The chancellor’s Britain, where happy people skip to their secure jobs to celebrate their rising living standards, is not one that many will recognise. But it’s what he did not say that is most significant. He did not spell out where, if re-elected, he will make the huge spending cuts he plans for the next parliament, nor did he tell Britain’s low-paid workers which of their benefits he will cut. Stability and consistency are what businesses need to grow and prosper. This Budget sets the tone, providing a clear plan for fiscal health and growth. This budget has some encouraging measures to help businesses create jobs for the benefit of all.
It is not just us doing a trawl through the budget small print. The Labour party is on the case too, and it is flagging up this in the OBR report. George Osborne forgot to mention this Retweet to remind him #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/TxvG9BAUmv
Help-to-buy Isas won’t push up house prices, the OBR thinks. This is from its report. To the extent that this supports prospective first-time owner-occupiers relative to those looking to buy-to-let, then it is possible that the measure will lead to a change in the composition of transactions towards first-time buyers, although the effect on aggregate property transactions is unclear. In supporting overall demand for housing, it is also possible that the policy will add to house price growth, although given the scale of the scheme we would expect any effect to be negligible. We have therefore not adjusted our forecasts for housing transactions and house prices for this measure.
Peter Spencer, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, reckons the Office for Budget Responsibility is actually being too gloomy in its new forecasts. He says it hasn’t fully recognised the fall in commodity prices and the recovery in the eurozone: The OBR’s 0.1% upward revision to 2015 growth looks very small in the context of these developments. In particular, the collapse in the oil price has caused a substantial upward revision to the forecast for household income growth. Yet the forecast for consumer spending growth has been revised down, leaving the saving rate well above 7%. Similarly most forecasters are becoming more optimistic about the prognosis for the Eurozone, particularly since the ECB launched its QE programme, but the OBR’s forecast remained downbeat. OBR economic forecasts are very much on the cautious side. If I had to bet, more likely to be revised up in future than down. #Budget2015
More from the OBR briefing: how has govt done on public finance goals? OBR slide sums it up. Not too bad on goals but will be rollercoaster ride pic.twitter.com/SMQIoeD22v Don't you hate it when that happens? OBR head notes: Just 3 months after dropping it, govt now on track to meet its old debt target
This is from the second paragraph of the OBR report. The coalition government’s policy decisions in this budget are not expected to have a material impact on the economy.
The jump in government spending now expected in 2019-20, which will avoid a return to 1930s levels, is the equivalent of the Ministry of Defence’s annual budget! Public services day to day spending in 2019/20 revised up by £28.5bn, equivalent to departmental budget of min of defence, says OBR head
Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, told the BBC that, despite Osborne’s decision to cut pension tax relief, using some of the money Labour had earmarked for its tuition fees cut, Labour could still go ahead with its policy. Ed Balls says Labour will still go ahead with tuition fee cut despite £600 million shortfall after Chancellors pension pot grab #budget2015 Ed Balls's assessment of the Chancellor's #budget2015 speech? "Hubristic." http://t.co/sgheDgcwoP pic.twitter.com/vBRkI3seTk
There is still little sign that Britain’s productivity is picking up: OBR says return to sustained productivity growth "remains elusive" and GDP and earnings growth depend on this happening. #budget2015 OBR Chote says big pic on public finances is receipts lower across most of forecast period after #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/AEcSVEgwxw
In his speech Osborne announced a review of the use of deeds of variation. This sounded like a policy entirely announced to give him the opportunity to take a dig at Ed Miliband (whose mother used one some years ago). The accountancy firm KPMG has criticised Osborne for this. This is from Dermot Callinan, a KPMG, a tax partner. By identifying deeds of variation (DOV) as “tax avoidance” the Chancellor has focused on the potential tax consequences for those who undertake tax planning. There are many cases where variations are used simply to correct tax mistakes or use business and agricultural allowances on death, where a widow and other family members of the deceased want to make a change so that the estate can go to somebody else. Without DOV, executors will have to resort to the Courts who will become busier with “mistake” applications along the lines of the cases of Pitt-v-Futter and negligence claims against family solicitors.
OBR chief Robert Chote begins today’s briefing by saying the budget looks “pretty neutral”, meaning the chancellor has given with one hand, and taken with the other. Chote also confirms that low inflation (and cheap oil) should stimulate the economy:
Right, it’s time for the Office for Budget Responsibility to give its verdict on the chancellor’s efforts. Our colleague Katie Allen is tweeting from the briefing. You've heard Osborne's pre-election Budget now Office for Budget Responsibility tells us how the future might look pic.twitter.com/bDDdlQ0DVJ
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has just been commenting on the budget on the BBC. Here are the key points he made. It would be much nicer if we were told where they were going to come from. The electorate could have a much clearer sense of what was going to happen ... It is a terrible shame we are going into the election with these big numbers being bandied about, on both sides, without any detail about actually how that is going to be achieved. The chancellor has been talking about £12bn of welfare cuts for probably two years now. We don’t know anything more about where they are going to come from. The OBR very pointedly referred to it [the big cuts in 2016-17 and 2017-18, followed by the increase] as a rollercoaster, the very first page of that document refers to that as rollercoaster for public service spending. It is clearly easier and better if you do this in a more smooth way.
In the City, the FTSE 100 has jumped by 100 points to 6,938, not too far from its record closing high. Shares in housebuilders, energy firms, investment groups and drinks makers have all gained ground on the back of Osborne’s various announcements.
The OBR also predicts that monetary policy will remain “very loose”, with the Bank of England leaving interest rates unchanged until mid-2016. Attention, mortgage holders - here's new OBR forecasts for BoE base rate. Lower for longer #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/Sdhg5cngtb
The OBR has cut its forecast for house price growth over the next two years, but warns that getting on the housing ladder will then get even harder: House price growth is stronger in the second half of the forecast reflecting stronger growth of real income per household. House prices rise faster than earnings for most of the forecast period thanks to the lagged effect of past falls in mortgage interest rates and the fact that household income growth has historically had a more than one-for-one impact on house prices.
It’s not been a great budget for the bookmakers. Ladbrokes is nursing the biggest single loss for a budget bingo wager in its history, having offered 10/1 that Osborne would make a “two kitchens” joke.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has to make long-term forecasts about the economy, taking into account many factors. In the past it has made allowance for David Cameron’s declared intention to get net migration below 100,000. But, in the light of the government’s abject failure to achieve this, the OBR has decided to give up taking the target seriously. Or, to put it another way, the OBR has raised its growth forecast partly because it is reconciled to the Conservatives failing on immigration. Net migration in the year to September 2014 rose to 298,000, up from 210,000 in the year to September 2013. Our previous forecasts have been underpinned by the assumption in the ONS low migration population projections that net migration will move towards 105,000 a year by mid-2019. A reduction over time seems consistent with the international environment and with the Government’s declared efforts to reduce it. But in light of recent evidence, it no longer seems central to assume it will decline so steeply. So we now assume that net migration flows will tend towards 165,000 in the long term, consistent with the ONS principal population projections. Relative to our December forecast, this raises potential output growth by 0.5 per cent over the forecast period via 16+ population growth.
Another chart showing how government spending is now forecast to rebound by the end of the next parliament: The big #budget2015 fiscal reversal? Departmental spending now to rise significantly in 2019-20 in nominal terms: pic.twitter.com/jWCfIJisIn
Here’s the Treasury’s fact sheet on help-to-buy Isas The government will provide £50 per month for every £200 someone saves, up to a maximum of government payment of £3,000. People will only be able to use this for a first home, and one that they will live in. It is available for homes worth up to £250,000, or £450,000 in London and the government money only gets handed over at the point the purchase. But a couple buying a home together can both get their £3,000. The Treasury expects 60% of first-time buyers to use the scheme, and by the end of the decade it is expected to cost £835m a year. Now an ISA for first time house buyers - straightforward bribes to subsidise existing house prices #budget15
Thanks to the Office for Budget Responsibility, we can now see how George Osborne has sunk Labour’s attack line that spending will return to 1930s levels in the next parliament. In the OBR’s words: Government’s spending policy assumptions is a sharp acceleration in the pace of implied real cuts to day-to-day spending on public services and administration in 2016-17 and 2017-18, followed by a sharp turnaround in 2019-20. The projected budget surplus in 2019-20 is £16.1 billion lower than in our December forecast. The Government now assumes that total spending will grow in line with nominal GDP rather than whole economy inflation in that year. Combined with a lower forecast for annually managed expenditure, that means that implied public services spending in 2019- 20 has been revised up by £28.5 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) since December. At 36%... 19/20 spending/GDP is 0.1% above 99/2000 and 0.2% above 1958/58 ...1930s labour fox shot. Just. pic.twitter.com/QODyeINkZT
The BBC’s Robert Peston spotted this. Those who oppose new freedom to sell annuities will be alarmed that it raises more than £1/2bn a year in tax - big sales to come #budget2015
This was a very busy budget, with lot of things in it that may or may not be politically effective, says former chancellor Lord Lawson on Sky News now. But the important issue is how the economy is faring.
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s new, independent assessment of the UK economy is now online: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2015
We can now see the impact of all Osborne’s tax and benefit changes since 2010 on the rich, the poor, and everyone else:
You can see the full budget, and Osborne’s speech, on the Treasury website:
Osborne’s changes to the tax allowances will cost over £1bn next year alone. And the new Help to Buy ISAs will cost over £800m annually by the end of the next parliament: Reducing tax on savings income costs £1bn in 2016-17 - but falls thereafter according to Treasury #budget2015: pic.twitter.com/DVzJIgSDjx
Labour is sticking to its plan to cut tuition fees to £6,000 per year, Miliband says, and make Nick Clegg answer for his broken promises on the door step. (Labour had planned to fund the commitment by restricting pension tax relief, an idea which Osborne has now lifted himself)
Miliband says there is a “glaring omission” in today’s budget speech - the National Health Service. And that’s because the government is planning “massive” cuts in the next five years to pay for the changes announced today. Miliband: they are planning massive cuts in the next parliament, faster pace than seen in last five years. #Budget2015
Shares in investment groups have climbed after Osborne’s new savings proposals, with St James Place and Hargreaves Lansdown are both up 3.6%.
Miliband: economy is too unbalanced, too insecure. Productivity gap too high. The rebalancing Osborne promised hasn't happened. #Budget2015
The chancellor shouldn’t be crowing about halving the deficit in this parliament [from 10% to 5% of GDP], says Ed Miliband - he’s failed in his aim to eliminate it.
Those jibes about Miliband’s two kitchens, and his mother’s use of inheritance tax, may have stung. The Labour leader says he won’t take lessons from “Trust Fund chancellor and the Bullingdon prime minister”.
Snap political verdict: That was flash. We’ll need to look at the details to see what they amount to, but Help to Buy ISAs, with the government putting in £1 for every £4 you save, is clearly going to go down well with potential first-time buyers, and the new personal savings allowance sounds like a generous bung for the Daily Telegraph classes. On the macro picture, what was most significant was George Osborne’s decision to scale back the autumn statement’s “Road to Wigan Pier” austerity forecast. His raid on pension tax relief may limit Labour’s options, and letting Manchester keep its extra business rates revenue was a clever excursion into Labour territory. But we need to look at the detail. We’ll get going on that now. AS
Ed Miliband is now responding to George Osborne. He says the budget “won’t be believed” by the public, and accuses the chancellor of inventing a new measure of living standards.
Osborne may or not be a good chancellor (opinions vary), but he looks like a fortunate one. As expected, the recent drop in inflation has helped to push down Britain’s borrowing requirements (by cutting the cost of index-linked welfare and debt repayments). GDP forecasts from OBR more gloomy than those from the Bank of England, not as favourable as expected. #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/yUpKmJTXby More generous than expected support package of £1.3bn for North Sea oil/gas production in face of falling oil prices #Budget2015 Osborne plays Agincourt card with £1m memorial to mark victory v force of France and "renegade Scottish nationalists" #Budget2015 #1415
Osborne says this will effectively create tax-free banking fro the entire population.
Osborne says people will be able to cash in their annuities without paying punitive tax rates.
Osborne says he cut beer duty last year for the second year in a row. The industry said that created 16,000 jobs.
The personal tax-free allowance will rise to £10,800 next year - and then to £11,000 the year after #Budget15 pic.twitter.com/AP7NGgbGrS
Shares in oil companies had been moving higher in recent days on hopes of tax breaks in the Budget, and they have duly arrived, giving the sector another lift. Meanwhile Royal Dutch Shell is 1.8% higher, Nick Fletcher reports.
Does the chancellor decide the policies and then think up the jokes, or the other way round? Osborne appears to have decided on support for the internet of things to generate a two-kitchens gag about ed miliband #budget2015
Osborne says people want their taxes to be simple to pay.
Corporation tax will be cut to 20% in April, he says. Labour wants to put this up. It would be the first increase since 1973. That would be a job destroying measure, he says.
Osborne says he wants to expand ultra-fast broadband to almost all the homes in the country.
And there will be support for the internet of things. So - to use a completely ridiculous example - were someone to have two kitchens they would be able to control both fridges from the same phone.
Osborne says TV and film tax credits are to be made more generous. There will also be support for the video games industry, and a new tax credit for orchestras.
Osborne says the falling oil prices pose a threat to the North Sea oil industry. Bold and immediate measures are needed, he says.
Osborne says a comprehensive transport strategy will be funded for the north. A new city deal will be struck with the combined West Yorkshire authority.
In the City, bank shares have come off their best levels after the chancellor announced measures to raise £5.3bn from the sector. Market reporter Nick Fletcher explains: The rate of the bank levy will be raised, and banks will be stopped from deducting PPI compensation payments from corporation tax. Lloyds Banking Group, weak already on the prospect of the government selling another £9bn stake, is down 0.6% while Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have slipped back from earlier highs.
Naked politics as Osborne announces review of "deeds of variation", as used by opposition leader's mother...
Osborne says new funding will be available to address housing shortages in London.
Osborne announces measures to help the services, including funds for Battle of Britain memorials. Blood bike charities do a great job. They wil be exempt from VAT.
I calculate that Osborne has reduced spending-cuts gap between Labour and Tories from £50bn to between £20bn and £30bn #Budget2015
Osborne announces various measures on tax avoidance and tax evasion.
Osborne says he has looked at Labour’s plan to cut the annual pension relief allowance. But this would penalise middle income people, including nurses, and help students going into well-paid jobs. So he rejects the idea, he says.
Osborne says share of income tax paid by top 1% is projected to rise. That means they're getting a bigger share of the income, though.
Opportunity has increased, Osborne says. More people from disadvantaged backgrounds are going to university. Extra funding for child mental health services is included in the budget.
Here are the full borrowing forecasts, compared to the previous ones, showing that Osborne has dropped his aim for a £23bn surplus by 2019-20.
Osborne says he needs to commit to the fiscal plans set out in this budget to keep national debt falling. After all the hard work of the last five years, it would be a tragedy to reverse this.
Osborne says Britain is out of the red, into the black, and paying its way in the world.
This counters the Labour claim he would cut spending to 1930s levels.
Osborne says for much of the last five years the national debt has been rising. But he will be able to meet his original debt target, he says.
GO says £13bn from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, and£9bn from Lloyds will pay off national debt #budget
Osborne turns to debt. Welfare payments are £3bn lower than forecast at the time of the autumn statement, he says.
Osborne confirms that a new pound coin will be created. The 12-sided coin will include emblems for all four UK nations.
Osborne says he has repaid debt issued by figures like Gladstone and Goschen. The debt created by Gordon Brown will take longer to pay off, he says.
Osborne says inflation has also fallen.
Those growth forecasts aren’t quite as positive as some economists had expected. GDP will be a little higher this year and next, but a little lower in 2017. Here’s the details: GDP growth forecast up for 2015 and 2016 - but it's down for 2017 #budget2015 pic.twitter.com/JQHaovlKAf
Osborne says he can afford real increases in the national minimum wage. By the end of the decade it will be more than £8.
Osborne says living standards are up since the election. GDP per capita is up 5%, he says.
Osborne says most jobs being created are skilled, and full-time. And the new jobs are not just in the south. Yorkshire has created more jobs than France.
Osborne turns to jobs. The claimant count is at its lowest rate since 1975.
Osborne defends his decision to apply to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Osborne says oil prices are falling. The OBR has revised down the growth of the world economy, the growth of world trade and growth in the Eurozone.
Much interest in the chancellor’s claim that living standards have risen over this parliament: I'll be curious to see which living standards measure Osborne is referring to when claiming higher than in 2010 #Budget2015
Osborne says the OBR has confirmed Britain grew by 2.6% last year. Some people want him to follow the French approach. But he will follow the secretary general of the OECD who said Britain had a long-term economic plan and should stick to it.
Lindsay Hoyle, the deputy speaker, appeals for quiet. He is struggling to hear Osborne, he says. (He hasn’t missed much so far.)
Osborne says, again, he is choosing the future. He wants the UK to be the most prosperous economy in the world. He chooses business and jobs, and the whole nation. We choose responsibility, he says. We choose aspiration, we choose families.
Osborne says the critical choice is whether to return to the “chaos” of the past, or to carry on recovering the economy. Any extra money will go on addressing the deficit.
Osborne says he reports on a Britain that is growing, creating jobs and paying its ways. We took difficult decisions ... and it worked. Britain is walking tall again.
George Osborne is about to deliver his budget statement.
This is almost certainly the last time Miliband will respond to a budget. PM or oot.
#PMQS Chancellor Osborne's family in gallery for budget. Wife and father in law , plus mum, dad and Uncle Ken Clarke all in the same row
Labour’s Ian Lavery says many families in the north east are being hammered. Life expectancy is 10 years lower than in the rest of the country. Cameron should apologise. Cameron says the claimant count has fallen in Lavery’s constituency by 28% over the last year. Youth unemployment has fallen even more.
John Howell, a Conservative, praises the government’s long-term economic plan. Cameron says the UK has seen the largest rise in employment of any G7 country in the last year. More young people have got into work in the UK in the last year than in the rest of the EU put together.
Cameron says the minimum wage lost value after the Labour recession. Now it is going up. And it is set to reach more than £8 by the end of the next parliament. So Labour’s plan to lift it to £8 would amount to a cut, he claims.
Labour’s Fiona Mactaggart says is cancer waiting times were met in Doncaster (see 12.07pm), it is because they have a very effective MP. But nationally cancer waiting referral targets have been missed in the last four quarters. What would Cameron say to the people affected. Cameron says cancer survival figures are going up. More people are being referred for treatment. In Mactaggart’s constituency the targets are being met. They have an effective MP too.
This is quite fun. Another gloomy half-hour for Nick. See how his expression has changed over the past five yrs: http://t.co/dcPkU0nGly pic.twitter.com/7EHm7x10iX
Ed Mili now nervously re-reading through his Budget response on front bench. May explain why that wasn't his finest #PMQs.
By my reckoning there are 4 past or present chancellors in the house - Osborne, Darling, Clark and Lawson #pmqs #Budget2015
Snap PMQs Verdict: Cameron at his most hyper-confident. Miliband made a spirited attempt to unsettle him with a catalogue of NHS broken promises, or policy setbacks, but Cameron brushed him aside quite easily, partly with the cheap kitchen jokes (some of which were quite funny), partly with the point about the A&E list (assuming its true), but mostly with broad-brush boasting.
Miliband says Cameron broke his promises on waiting times, reorganisation, cancer treatment and A&E. Why should anyone believe his NHS promises? Cameron says people can trust him because the economy is strong. Miliband has not even mentioned the employment figures, he says. Miliband says the NHS cannot survive another five years of Cameron. It will only be save under Labour.
Miliband asks why Cameron broke his promise on cancer waiting times. Cameron quotes cancer waiting times for Doncaster. The targets were met for people seeing a doctor, and beginning treatment. If Miliband cannot stand the heat, he ought to get out of his second kitchen.
Ed Miliband says Cameron promised no top-down reorganisation of the NHS before the election. Was this an “over denial” or a broken promise? Cameron says he made took the bureaucracy out of the NHS. And he put more money in. Ed Balls says he wants to be in the kitchen cabinet. But he does not know which one to turn up to.
Labour’s Ian Murray says George Osborne said in his first budget we’re all in this together. Did he dream up this soundbite before he proposed a £42,000 tax cuts for millionaires? David Cameron says a record number of people are in work. In Murray’s constituency, the claimant count has fallen by 49%.
PMQs is about to start. I will be covering the Cameron/Miliband exchanges, and budget related questions. AS
Here’s the BBC’s Allegra Stratton on suggestions that George Osborne might increase the national insurance threshold. Senior sources rubbished a national insurance move recently... It didn't poll as well as Tax free thresholds. Too technical. We'll see.
Some more budget trivia - the length of George Osborne’s previous budgets. This is from the Press Association. 2010: 54 minutes
This is not a slow motion video (!) Osborne shows off his Budget https://t.co/udTFTdfpkZ
In a Labour blog Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, says he thinks George Osborne will try to pull off “a huge deception” on the British public. There’s one thing we can be certain of about George Osborne’s Budget today: from start to finish, it will be a cover-up of his terrible record as Chancellor. The Conservatives came into office saying they’d protect our NHS, make people better off and balance the books -- but all three promises have been broken ...
Since 2010, the government has done a better job of lowering spending (as a share of the economy) than raising revenue, the Guardian Datablog team flag up:
This is what the prime minister’s spokesman said about Osborne’s budget presentation at cabinet this morning. I think you will see a very strong package of measures and that view was shared right around the table. There was a clear expression of views from around the table that it was a good and strong package.
Some more budget trivia. Every Chancellor of the Exchequer of the last 41 years is still alive, the only Cabinet job where this is the case #Budget2015
The CBI wants George Osborne to devote more help to working families (funds permitting, of course): Free childcare -now 15 hrs- should be extended to 1&2 yr olds in #Budget2015 http://t.co/b8UGEw8qD0 pic.twitter.com/A8rTfeQOCt
The chancellor and his Treasury team have just posed for the traditional photo-shoot with the red box on Downing Street:
Back in the financial markets, the pound has hit a new five-year low against the dollar at $1.4661, down almost one cent. Traders are pinning some blame on this morning’s unemployment data. Although employment hit a record high, the weaker-than-expected wage growth means the Bank of England is less likely to raise interest rates anytime soon: GBPUSD hits a June 2010 low. pic.twitter.com/MYOe6hSWcM
To what extent does the state of the economy affect a government’s chances of re-election? There is a good essay on this subject in Sex, Lies & the Ballot Box, and in it David Sanders says there is a link, but that what matters is how well voters expect their individual circumstances to improve in the future. The potential connection between people’s economic perceptions and their voting choices generated the second area of academic interest – what is often called ‘economic voting’. Distinctions were made between people’s perceptions of their own and their families’ interests (‘egocentric’ evaluations) and their broader views about the interests of the economy in general (‘sociotropic’ evaluations). Forward-looking (‘prospective’) evaluations were also distinguished from backward-looking (‘retro- spective’) ones. Different academic observers stressed different sets of perceptions, but in Britain it was often found that prospective egocentric evaluations or ‘personal economic expectations’ correlated most strongly with voting preference. In other words, it was how people thought the economy would do in the future that mattered, not how things had gone in the past; and it was what the government would do for you and your family that mattered, not any judgement about the country as a whole.
George Osborne has been tweeting. Here’s the new pound coin he is introducing. Here's the new £1 coin, designed by 15 year old David Pearce & featuring a symbol from each nation pic.twitter.com/N73BQHmSH7 Today we set out the next stage in a plan that is working, with a Budget that works for you. We will deliver a truly national recovery
Shabana Mahmood MP, the shadow exchequer secretary, has denied that Labour’s plan to cut tuition fees could be scuppered by the budget. She just told Sky News that Labour will “still have a fully funded proposal to cut tuition fees to £6,000 per year”, even if Osborne reduces pension tax relief, as rumoured. By cutting pensions tax relief from £1.25m to £1m Osborne is setting a big trap for Labour: how will Balls now pay for tuition fees cut?
One remarkable feature about his year’s budget is that we will effectively get two versions of it. Today George Osborne will announce the main one, containing measures agreed by the coalition, but also long-term plans that are pure Conservative policy. In an unprecedented move, Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury, will announce a Lib Dem alternative in a Commons statement tomorrow. Lib Dem sources say he insisted on being allowed to do this because of the proximity of the election. He will announce some measures on tax evasion that are agreed coalition policy. But he will make a statement on “alternative fiscal plans” and publish a Treasury document explaining what would happen to spending in the next parliament under Lib Dem plans.
This is from the FT’s Beth Rigby. Budget rabbit? well connected Tory says Osborne to raise NI threshold: "It snookers Labour & puts money into people's pockets" #budget2015
David Cameron has just left Downing Street and headed to parliament ready for PMQs, and then the budget, looking pretty cheerful:
Vince Cable, the Lib Dem business secretary, told BBC News this morning that there would “not be a spectacular giveaway” in the budget. That begs the question, obviously, what an unspectacular giveaway would look like.
Economists at Royal Bank of Scotland have tweeted five key points to watch out for: We'll be live tweeting throughout #Budget2015. Here's our top pick of what to look for... pic.twitter.com/BFjwTF6OY9 Nice use of Twitter GIFs… RT @SkyNews: Chancellors can drink during the Budget #Budget2015 pic.twitter.com/7ZOgztAoV5
Here’s Rachel Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, on this morning’s unemployment data: “Today’s fall in overall unemployment is welcome, but working people are still £1,600 a year worse off since 2010, showing the Tory plan is failing. “After five years of David Cameron the number of people paid less than a Living Wage has risen by 44%, and nearly half of all the new jobs created have been in low paid sectors. It’s five years of Tory failure on low pay.
Here are two good pre-budget articles in the papers today that are particularly interesting. Although I do not expect him to do this, he could greatly increase his scope to reduce income tax by raising the petrol tax. This has been – in my view unwisely – frozen since the government took office. But with the recent collapse in the oil price, an increase of, say, 5p a litre, which would bring in some £2 billion a year, has much to be said for it ... The most important reason for collecting an extra £2bn from the petrol tax is that, coupled with the likely strengthening of the public finances, and some further public expenditure savings, it would give Mr Osborne the scope to cut a penny of the basic rate of income tax. The economic benefit would be significant, and the political impact massive, as I discovered when I took a penny off in 1986 – the first such reduction for seven years. Alas, this is unlikely. The practice of negotiating the Budget with the Liberal Democrats, which has caused budget-making to be such a nightmare during this parliament, means that any scope for reducing income tax will be frittered away in a further rise in personal allowances. [Osborne] could decide that the elderly are aware that they use more fuel in winter, and should not be patronised by being given a winter fuel payment, as if the onset of winter always takes them by surprise. This should be done by replacing the winter fuel payment with an equivalent increase in the basic pension – which is, of course, taxable; thus ending, in the simplest possible way, the nonsense of the rich receiving a tax-free Christmas present from the state, and making a modest improvement to the public finances at the same time. Sadly, I don’t expect to see this desirable reform implemented just yet, but its day will surely come. Economic policy is, naturally, central to the outcome of elections. But budgets held immediately before campaigns are not. Why is this? Well, to start with, voters don’t pay much heed to political announcements and what they do hear, they often don’t believe. Many pre-election budgets are simply held too late to make any difference. Any boost to income from today’s Budget might be felt very faintly in one month’s pay, if that.
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, is less impressed by today’s unemployment report, arguing: “The economic recovery under way should be much further ahead than it is. The 3.2 million increase in population since 2007 has led to additional economic activity in the UK, as would be expected. The new jobs being created are mainly low-skilled, low-paid and very precarious jobs. Even skilled workers in the UK face being undercut while wages are stagnant or falling in real terms. “Well this is rather disappointing. The jobs market has been a consistent positive for the UK economy through the past 18 months and although jobs are still being created, the rate of expansion and the impact on wages is starting to diminish. This recovery in UK jobs is something that will be lauded time and again while Osborne is at the Dispatch Box later on but, looking forward, these falls in unemployment are worth little if wages are not increasing too.”
Here’s business secretary Vince Cable’s take on the jobless data: “Today’s employment figures are a historic moment. With almost three-quarters of working-age people now in work, we have achieved the highest rate of employment in the UK since records began. “This is a sign that the long-term decisions the Liberal Democrats have taken in government have created a more resilient economy.
George Osborne has hailed the news that Britain’s employment rate has hit a fresh record high (of 73.3%) in the last quarter: “Today’s ONS figures record yet another economic milestone, confirming a new record high employment rate alongside a claimant count that has not been lower since 1975. This good news is further proof that the government’s long term economic plan is working and that British families are seeing the results with regular wages rising more than five times faster than prices. But in an uncertain world economy all of this progress will be at risk of collapsing back into chaos unless we carry on working through the plan that is delivering stability and rising living standards.” The highest employment rate in our history is not a dry fact, it means more people with the security of a pay packet and a brighter future.
UK unemployment data has just been released, giving a new snapshot of the British economy in the runup to the budget. And the Office for National Statistics reports that “employment continued to rise and unemployment continued to fall” in the three months to January.
Here are today’s YouGov GB polling figures. Update: Lab lead at 2 - Latest YouGov / The Sun results 17th Mar - Con 34%, Lab 36%, LD 7%, UKIP 12%, GRN 6%; APP -20 http://t.co/staHN1j07I
Here’s another shot from outside No 11 this morning.
The Treasury has claimed that moving Britain to a brave new world of digital tax accounts will mean less work for millions of us. But Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, warns that taxpayers face a learning curve: “Many of those filing paper self-assessment forms are self-employed people and those running small businesses who have been using the postal method for many years. They need to be given access to resources which help them move the process online to ensure they aren’t left behind. “Today’s announcement by the Chancellor is part of the Government’s push to get the tax payer to do more as HMRC’s resources continue to be squeezed by 5% cuts year on year.”
As Julia Kollewe reports, we have already been told quite a lot about what will be in the budget. If Sir Nicholas Macpherson is really going to call the police about pre-budget briefings, there are going to be some awkward conversations. Nick Clegg announced a budget spending announcement at the Lib Dem conference. But there is more in today’s paper. Here are some of the new reports about what will be in the budge. End of the tax return: real-time digital accounts for all taxpayers #tomorrowspaperstoday #Budget15 pic.twitter.com/DCz0AR1m4r Treasury source says report the Chancellor is to scrap the 20 per cent savings tax for all but the rich is inaccurate
Our economics editor Larry Elliott has expertly deconstructed a George Osborne budget speech - you don’t want to miss it:
George Osborne will probably declare that the UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. The data suggests he’s right, but the International Monetary Fund also reckons the US will overtake Britain this year in the growth stakes:
The financial markets are calm ahead of the budget. Eminently being a pre-election budget, any measures that are announced are rather moot given a very uncertain election outcome. As such Osborne’s speech will primarily be about “talking up” what the government has achieved on the economy, and probably trying to distract from some of the very tough decisions on spending and taxes which will need to be implemented by the next government, given that the UK’s budget deficit remains very large.
Here’s the Guardian’s guide to what we already know will be in the budget, and what we can expect.
And in the Commons, MPs have been queuing up so that they can grab a seat for the budget statement. They do this by putting what’s called a prayer card on a seat when the doors open, allowing them to reserve it for later. They do this because there are only 427 seats in the chamber, even though there are 650 MPs. The early birds waiting on #Budget2015 morning pic.twitter.com/IQPG4KkNpr On Member 's lobby of Commons queueing for Prayer Card to get seat in Chamber for the Budget. pic.twitter.com/y98bHL5ZIL
Osborne has the chance today to boast that the economy is recovering, hint at tax cuts to come, and loosen - at least slightly - the austerity he plans for the next parliament. City economists reckon that the chancellor has been handed a fiscal boost of around £6bn per year thanks to lower inflation, and predictions that growth will be faster than expected in December’s autumn statement.
Here are some pictures from outside No 11 this morning. Talk of mild frostbite among hackerati gathered in Downing St #budget15 #bloomin"freezing #softies pic.twitter.com/W7spdYGrp6 Downing Street as car park pic.twitter.com/ubrp4nxsBq Wry smile from transport secretary as he confronts Budget day snappers pic.twitter.com/iKMpJFRSBr
It’s the last budget of this parliament, and the last act of government of any significance taken by the coalition. Alternatively, it is the first proper day of the general election campaign. Whichever way you look at it, it’s going to be interesting. Lower-than-expected inflation will give Osborne wriggle room of about an extra £6bn since the Treasury now needs to set aside less money to fund interest payments on debt, or to cover the cost of uprating welfare payments in line with inflation. One crowd-pleaser, announced in advance, was plans for millions of taxpayers to be spared the annual burden of filling in forms with Osborne expected to declare the death of the tax return. The annual tax return will be replaced by a digital system within the next five years. The changes will apply to about 12 million taxpayers, including 11 million individuals and almost 2m companies. Continue reading... |
Bitcoin Trading Falls Away from $300 And Mounts Return
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Bitcoin trading took a bearish turn today when yesterday’s corrective decline intensified into a stronger wave of decline below support. The turnaround is not being interpreted as evidence of a return to decline, but as a larger correction in the longer-term advance. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3 hour delay. Read the […] The post Bitcoin Trading Falls Away from $300 And Mounts Return appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
Bitcoin Companies Take the Stage at SXSW Interactive
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The 2015 South by Southwest Interactive, held March 13-17, offered an exciting glimpse into the future for cryptocurrency users. Products that generated the most buzz focused on security for bitcoin users and the general public. Here are the top five products that caught the attention of the judges, experts and the media. Fitcoin Fitcoin, an iOS app from Chaotic Moon Studios in Austin, Texas, allows users to receive bitcoin for workouts. Simply pair it with Mio Fuse, Jawbone UP3 or Atlas wearable technology. The app tracks the duration, distance and intensity of a workout in real-time. By calculating the energy spent working out into CPU time on a Bitcoin mining rig, users earn slivers of bitcoin. The company does […] The post Bitcoin Companies Take the Stage at SXSW Interactive appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine. |
Facebook Instant P2P Payments and the Future of Money
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The prestigious MIT Technology Review has published a Business Report on “The Future of Money.” The report surveys emerging digital money and online payment technologies, including Apple Pay, Alibaba’s Alipay and Bitcoin, and concludes that promising advances will be integrated with mainstream fintech and controlled by large players. “As technology-driven payment ideas give cash a run for its money, the big winners could be established banks and credit card companies,” the report begins, and goes on to describe fintech advances such as digital wallets, cryptocurrencies and mobile peer-to-peer payments. “Which technologies and companies are likely to lead this transformation is the big question for this Business Report,” the report reads. The MIT Technology Review report missed by a few days […] The post Facebook Instant P2P Payments and the Future of Money appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine. |
The Biggest Online Drug Market Just Vanished, Taking $12 Million With It
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Gizmodo, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Evolution, the most popular online drug market since the Silk Road  |
BREAKING: UK's Plans to Regulate Bitcoin Revealed in Treasury Report
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The United Kingdom's Treasury has published its report on digital currencies in conjunction with the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget speech today. The report recommends that anti-money laundering regulation be applied to digital currency exchanges in the UK and that HM Treasury will consult on the regulatory approach in Parliament. The government will also work with the British Standards Institute and the […] |
Dark Market Evolution Vanishes With $12 Million in Bitcoin
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Notorious dark web marketplace Evolution has vanished amid reports that its administrators have absconded with more than $12m in bitcoin. Accessible only via the Tor network, the market had become the go-to online drug bazaar following the shut down of Silk Road and Operation Onymous, a pan-agency crackdown on illicit markets that seized 400 dark net domains […] |
Ripple Labs Appoints Former US State Department Official as Advisor
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Ripple Labs has appointed Anja Manuel, a former US Secretary of State official, as an advisor to the company. |
A Threat to Bitcoin? Facebook Rolls Out P2P Payments on Messenger
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST You can now do much more than chat, like, share and add friends on Facebook. This past Tuesday, Facebook announced that it was introducing a feature in Messenger that would enable users send and receive money. The initial roll-out will be in the United States. And it’s going to be free. The first time that […] The post A Threat to Bitcoin? Facebook Rolls Out P2P Payments on Messenger appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
This UK train line boosted house prices by up to 82%
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Living near train tracks isn't exactly the first thing that springs to mind when you think about what boosts property prices. However, according to data from estate agents Knight Frank in its "Crossrail: Analysing Property Market Performance from Reading to Shenfield 2015" report, more and more Britons are opting for the convenience of being near public transport and are therefore pushing up the prices on properties that are within a maximum 10 minute walking distance of a certain Crossrail train line. Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project, is set to be completed and become fully operational by the end of 2018. With three years to go, more and more people are buying properties near the Crossrail stations in anticipation of the transport connections to and from London. Knight Frank said that the average property price increased along the Crossrail route (as pictured) compared to a 43% uplift in the wider area since the project received Royal Assent in July 2008. This is when a parliamentary bill is turned into an Act of Parliament (law) after the Queen formally agrees to it.
Knight Frank said in a report that the average property price within 10 minute walking distance to Bond Street station rose by 82%, while those near Acton rocketed 77% over the last six years. In Acton's surrounding areas, there was "only" a 33% rise over that time. “Our research shows overall price performance continues to be stronger in the central London sections of the Crossrail route," said Gráinne Gilmore, head of Knight Frank UK Residential Research, in the report. "However, over the last 12 months, the price ‘ripple’ effect in London has really started to take effect, with stronger price growth in areas surrounding central London. This could help feed into stronger price growth around stations towards the East and West, especially those which have underperformed to date, and where housing supply is set to be delivered in the coming years.” “The planned levels of development along the outer sections of the route should provide scope for price uplifts as the public realm is improved, amenities receive a boost and buyers have new reasons to visit the area. The relative ‘discount’ in terms of price per square foot in these areas compared to more central locations is also likely to work in their favour. We expect that as the opening of Crossrail approaches, the increased connectivity combined with new development will result in price outperformance in these areas.” As of 2014, London's population passed its previous record-high, seen just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Knight Frank said that forecasts show that by 2036, Britain's capital population will reach 10 million, and "demand for public transport will have risen by another 50%." According to Transport for London, the population is estimated to grow by one full tube train every three days. The underground carried a record 1.3 billion passengers between 2013 and 2014. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Research reveals why women cheat, and it's not what you think |
The Biggest Drug And Gun Market On The Dark Web Just Disappeared And Millions Of Bitcoin With It
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Forbes, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Evolution, the biggest and baddest deep web marketplace for drugs, guns and more, has vanished and the site's PR has claimed its owners have scammed everyone. They may have just made off with as much as $12 million in Bitcoin, far more than the $1.8 million they were thought to have earned in the last year. |
Coinapult Bitcoin Wallet Compromised to the Tune of $43 000
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Coinapult, the service which allows users to secure the value of their bitcoins in fiat, has been hacked to the tune of 150 bitcoins, roughly $43,000 USD. Access to the site was disabled on Tuesday while staff investigated the breach, which they believe may have roots in an outage at their data center last Friday. […] The post Coinapult Bitcoin Wallet Compromised to the Tune of $43 000 appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
The Dark Web’s Top Drug Market, Evolution, Just Vanished
Wired, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Over the past weekend, the massive online black market known as Evolution halted withdrawals of bitcoin from its market site, telling users that it was dealing with technical difficulties. Then on Tuesday evening, both its market and user forum went offline, with no opportunity for drug buyers and sellers to pull out the funds they had stored in their Evolution accounts. The result has been a wave of panic that's shaken the online black market economy as much as any of the law enforcement drug busts of the last two years. The post The Dark Web’s Top Drug Market, Evolution, Just Vanished appeared first on WIRED.  |