The Budget: End of Austerity?

Not really. To paraphrase Churchill, it is not the end, or even the beginning of the end, but it might be the end of the beginning. There were no more cuts announced. But there were very few cuts cancelled and many remain in place to kick in. Instead of widely predicted tax rises, there were tax cuts. But the overall package, when the numbers are crunched, benefits the most well off the most and the least well of the least. It is not socially just, but it is socially expedient. Enough has been done to take the heat out of extreme situations without ending them. Public services remain in crisis, short of cash and at their wits end to deliver.

It all sounds good on the airwaves and podcasts, but when the moment comes for the case to be answered on doorsteps up and down the country, it will be found wanting at almost every level. And then there is Brexit. It has gone very quiet on that front.

The calm before the storm?