Joking aside, Fiscal Phil raises a smile

T

HE Chancellor seemed to be enjoying himself. Yes, his jokes were at times an embarrassment but at least he showed his human side and he will have done his personal standing no harm for what was a solid performance.

But it was more than a performance. This was a man in the enviable position to give the nation some good news when, as he put it, we face one of the most important moments in our history.

Repeatedly he spoke about the “era of austerity” finally coming to an end and, fittingly, he praised the British people for “working hard to clean up the mess left by Labour”. Cleverly, he did not say that austerity was over, rather that it was nearing the end, a subtle difference backed up by his call for vigilance and discipline in the months ahead.

Yes, we would have liked some positive new announcements about the lack of housing for young people or those on low incomes, and had hoped for details about meeting the long-term care needs of the frail and elderly. But Mr Hammond surprised us with many of his fiscal pronouncements.

In addition to the tax cuts, there was much for traditional Tories to applaud, not least a recognition that the high street is on its knees, that small businesses need help, that our ex-service personnel deserve more support. And pensioners will be sleeping more comfortably knowing that the Chancellor is not going to raise money by reducing pension tax relief.

Without mentioning the word “unity” this might go some way to healing the wounds within his own party. The positivity from the Tory benches was in contrast to the reaction of Labour. Jeremy Corbyn banged on about the problems austerity has caused but came up with no clear proposals apart from raising taxes.

Mr Hammond does not exactly have the “wow” factor but he might just be the right man at the right time to guide Britain through choppy waters in the coming months.