Tag Archives: budget 2014

Gillian Guy

The Independent View: Pensions reform – the right to advice is right

By Gillian Guy | Sun 30th March 2014 - 8:45 am

citizens adviceDuring the Budget last week George Osborne announced the right to free and impartial face-to-face advice in the context of pension reforms. On a day where we saw other good news — such as encouraging growth forecasts and falling unemployment figures — it was a poignant reminder of how vital advice is for anyone facing major life decisions at any time in their life.

We know more than most how invaluable quality advice is. This year is our 75th anniversary and, over the past 12 months, Citizens Advice helped more than …

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Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
Eric Avebury

Eric Avebury writes…Society cannot afford to scrap the alcohol duty escalator

By Eric Avebury | Wed 26th March 2014 - 9:01 am

Alcohol and Ulcerative ColitisLast week’s Budget saw the Chancellor renege on the Government’s commitment to tackle the problem of cheap alcohol by scrapping the alcohol duty escalator. This move is a step that society simply cannot afford; not only will these duty cuts result in a shortfall of £290 million to the Exchequer when Osborne admits we are still going to be in deficit until 2018, but with the cost of alcohol harm in the UK exceeding £25 billion each year, our public services – particularly the NHS – can’t cope …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 11 Comments
Janice Turner

Opinion: Pensions move could negate the whole point of pensions saving

By Janice Turner | Mon 24th March 2014 - 4:26 pm

George Osborne’s announcement that people with  defined contribution (money purchase) pensions could take the lot as a lump sum on retirement kills several birds with one stone. First, it most definitely attracts the grey vote because the idea of getting your hands on your whole pension pot on retirement is very appealing.

But this also looks like a reaction to mounting evidence, including from the Financial Conduct Authority no less, that annuities are not good value for money. Defined Contribution schemes allow retirees to buy an annuity (your pension) on the open market, but the schemes provide a default annuity which …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 29 Comments
The Voice

LDVideo: Vince responds to the budget (and takes on Labour “hubris” in the process)

By The Voice | Sat 22nd March 2014 - 6:17 pm

Business secretary Vince Cable was on his feet in the Commons on Thursday, providing his response to budget. His speech has already proved something of a hit, not least for his deft responses to point-scoring interventions by Labour MPs, including with the Voice’s Stephen Tall.

You can watch (and read) Vince in action below.

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Call Clegg: Proud of Budget, help for parents, taking on Ed Balls and “silly” Shapps and keeping Scotland in the family

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 20th March 2014 - 1:30 pm

call cleggAnother good Call Clegg this morning with one question from Philadelphia on Scottish independence. The caller asked if David Cameron should resign if Scotland voted yes. Nick didn’t get into that, but he said he fervently hoped that Scotland would stay in the “UK family of nations” with more powers.

One criticism of the budget is that it only helps working parents, not those who choose to stay at home. Nick expressed his admiration for those who make that choice, but he said that so many had said to him that …

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
The Voice

Liberal Reform response to Budget 2014

By The Voice | Thu 20th March 2014 - 12:12 pm

Liberal ReformLiberal Reform had this to say about the measures contained in yesterday’s budget:

Liberal Reform welcomes much of this year’s budget, which once again has a clear Liberal Democrat thread running through it. From income tax to pensions, the changes announced by the chancellor come from Lib Dem thinking.

There is one area where we would liked to have seen further progress, and that is on housing.

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 27 Comments
NewsHound

“I thought it was a spoof” Danny Alexander on Shapps’ “patronising” Bingo tweet

By NewsHound | Thu 20th March 2014 - 11:50 am

Proof, as if we needed it, that Liberal Democrat and Tory mindsets are very different can be seen from Danny Alexander’s reaction to Grant Shapps’ “Bingo”poster.

 

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 11 Comments
The Voice

Social Liberal Forum response to Budget 2014

By The Voice | Thu 20th March 2014 - 10:32 am

Social Liberal ForumThe Social Liberal Forum’s Gareth Epps responded to yesterday’s budget over on the SLF website:

Much of this year’s Budget comes as little surprise. With a tight fiscal background and given George Osborne’s penchant for playing to the gallery, so much is predictable. Ditto the widely-trailed coalition announcements on the income tax threshold (where Nick Clegg has been desperate to stop the Tories claiming credit for the policy they opposed in 2010) and childcare.

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 13 Comments
Newsmoggie

LibLink: Danny Alexander: We ignored siren voices in the Tory party on 40p tax rate to give £100 tax cut for all

By Newsmoggie | Wed 19th March 2014 - 8:31 pm

Screen Shot 2014-03-19 at 19.44.37To write for the Mail once might be considered unfortunate. To do so twice in three days has to be considered careless. Mind you, Lady Bracknell would no doubt have read that paper.

Danny Alexander follows on from Sunday’s article with this piece on how the Liberal Democrats stopped the Tories from confining tax cuts to the rich alone. First, a little differentiation:

We’ve forced it onto the agenda at every Autumn Statement and Budget and by April this year will have delivered a tax cut worth £700 to 25 million working people.

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | 15 Comments
Mathew Hulbert

Opinion: Expansion of apprenticeships shows that Liberal Democrats are the party of young people.

By Mathew Hulbert | Wed 19th March 2014 - 6:11 pm

Made by apprentices reception License Some rights reserved by ApprenticeshipsAs someone who believes tackling long-term youth unemployment and giving opportunities to young people should be the Liberal Democrats’ next great mission in Government, I very much welcome the news in the Budget of new measures to grow the number of apprenticeships in our economy.

These initiatives are set to create 100,000 more apprentices which is fantastic news for young people in communities up and down the Country.

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 13 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Some first thoughts on the Budget

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th March 2014 - 2:23 pm

George Osborne with Red Box, Budget 2012So the Chancellor has just sat down. Here are my first thoughts on the Budget.

Nick gets his Workers’ Bonus

The personal tax threshold rises to £10,500. I doubt it was anything to do with the petition being pushed on social media in the last few days. This was down to the hard work of our ministers staying on message, in volume, over time, in budget negotiations. Nick Clegg has stuck with this through the entire Parliament and given us a very tangible promise kept – and more. “I am proud of what we have achieved”, said Osborne. Aye right.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 54 Comments
Stephen Tall

Why not scrap the annual Budget?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 19th March 2014 - 9:52 am

Budget 2010 photocallOne of my top 3 suggestions for this year’s budget was: “Scrap the absurd twice-yearly cycle of Budgets and Autumn Statements.” It wasn’t an original idea – the economist Tim Harford suggested it a couple of years ago, arguing “It may be an enjoyable political platform but there is no economic justification for the annual kaleidoscope of trivia.”

Tory peer and Times commentator Danny Finkelstein has tooted the same horn today:

I think one of the most useful reforms the Chancellor could make is to scrap the annual

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Michael BG
    Peter Msrtin, I am glad we agree that guaranteed jobs should be voluntary. I am not convinced that those of a particular age should be a priority, I would...
  • Roland
    @Michael BG “ Unemployed people need some time to look for work. Job Centres used to say that looking for a job is a full-time job.” From my experience, ...
  • Simon R
    @Michael; You seem to be making a lot of assumptions about how a guaranteed job scheme would work, which don't match anything either I or Peter have claimed. T...
  • David Sheppard
    Well said Manuela so pleased to have helped you during the election. Wonderful to have a Liberal MP in Stratford !...
  • Peter Msrtin
    @ Michael I agree guaranteed jobs should be voluntary and they should be properly paid. So these wouldn't be workfare. The emphasis would be on the young ...