Middle class mauled

THE day after the Budget is always revealing. Dust has settled, experts have pored over red book details and any sleight of hand is exposed.

This year is no exception. We knew this was a Labour-style tax and spend budget. What wasn’t apparent is just how much it was going to cost us all.We know now. And it’s a jaw-dropping amount. According to the Resolution Foundation, the average household will pay £3,000 a year more in tax to fund the Chancellor’s £150billion public spending spree.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says middle-earners will bear the brunt, thanks to national insurance hikes and millions being dragged into the higher tax band.

To be fair to Rishi Sunak, he didn’t try to disguise his Keynesian intentions on Wednesday. But he did give an assurance that there would still be enough financial headroom to boost spending AND cut taxes before the next election.

So is he a consummate plate-spinner, or a reckless gambler? The jury’s out.

We don’t doubt his sincerity, but there are so many imponderables which could blow his promises off course. With inflation going up, growth slowing and the spectre of rising interest rates, he might soon find his election war chest left as bare as Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. What then?

The unease felt by traditional low-tax, small-state Tories over this Budget was heightened when Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke hailed it as ‘a major shift’ in Conservative philosophy.

We must fervently hope not. It’s one thing to steal some of Labour’s clothes – quite another to take their whole wardrobe.