analysis

I should probably whisper this.

But having watched the UK’S first ever spring statement I am starting the campaign to bring back the full Budget it replaces.

Before knickers get in a twist, I am only joking. Well, perhaps half-joking.

Because the reality is it is really difficult to make a case for the worth of the Chancellor’s economic setpiece.

It was only in late November that I last sat down to listen to Philip Hammond give his financial State of the Nation address.

Could so much have changed in 111 days to justify the rigmarole that surrounds a major Parliamentary address by the Second Lord of the Treasury?

From where I was sitting, the answer was emphatically no.

There was an upwards revision in the OBR’S growth forecast – before it falls away again in 2021/22 – and there were improved debt figures.

Otherwise, there was confirmation the government was “getting on with the job” of providing new affordable homes, a good measure of self congratulation about how well things were going and the launch of a couple of consultations to ensure digital businesses pay their fair share of tax and “the role of new cash in the economy”.

For Courier Country there was the morsel of talks continuing over a Tay Cities Deal.

But there were no concrete proposals and that is the nub of my problem with the spring statement when compared to an agenda-setting Budget.

The Chancellor spoke for half an hour, but said next to nothing of note.