• £300m for parenting programmes for families, tailored services to help with perinatal mental health

• £150m to support training and development for early years workforce

• £200m for Supporting Families programme which helps families with varied needs

• Over £200m to continue the holiday activity and food programme

• £560m for youth services - enough to fund up to 300 youth clubs in England

• More than £200m to build or transform up to 8,000 community football pitches in the UK

• £2bn new funding to help schools and colleges, bringing total support (some already announced) to almost £5bn

• Restoring per pupil funding to 2010 levels in real terms, equivalent to a cash increase for every pupil of more than £1,500

• 30,000 new school places for children with special needs and disabilities

• New 50% business rates discount for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, including pubs, music venues, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, theatres, and gyms

• This will mean any eligible business can claim a discount up to a maximum of £110,000 - a tax cut worth almost £1.7bn

• Mr Sunak says that, together with small business rates relief, this means more than 90% of all businesses in these sectors will see a discount of at least 50%

A massive decrease for the Universal Credit taper, going from 63p to 55p

Whilst the workers in these areas struggle with crippling taxes

Yes

I really am not sure what to make of it.

A lot sounds fine, IF it happens however so much is projected to 2024, 2025 and 2026.?

The change from 63p to 55p, on Universal Credit, is a good move.

it's a budget with 1 eye on the next GE. The fact that joey thinks that it seems ok is exactly the response they wanted from labour supporters. I won't call it cynical yet, but it's certainly clever

A box of cigs is now 13.00 when did that happen D:

I'm very suspicious of it bots.
I did say I wasn't REALLY sure what to make of it yet.

A lot turns up with scrutiny afterwards.

I do welcome a good bit in it.
I do want things to improve no matter who is in government.

I do agree wit you it is one with an eye on the next general election.
Which I feel Johnson would like to have sooner rather than later.

I'd guess he'd like to wait for the new boundary changes in 2023.
In which the view is the Cons could benefit with 10 more seats, with Labour 4 less.
Plus he won't want to get too deep into 2024, if he does finally get the public inquiry going, in case there's the, for certain really bad, in my view, news as to his handling of the pandemic coming out.

Adding to that a lot he's presented today, cannot be expected until 2024 into 2025/6.
So he in an election before that can point to the strong benefits to come, IF they are still viable.

My own party I strongly support, definitely needs to develop some major idea and rapidly.
Mark Drakeford in Wales has stated Labour should take up as policy PR for elections.
I have and do support that.

It is an issue which would attract the support of those who don't usually vote, believing their votes never matter and have no influence.
It would unite strongly all other opposition parties behind it too.

That could be Labour's big moment and set up a whole new agenda.
I feel Labour needs to really look deep into that now.
Because Johnson and these set of Cons, ARE still being allowed to set the agenda.
By the ineffectiveness of, I admit sadly, any real eye catching ideas from Starmer.

I remember when they were between £1.70 - £2.20 for 20 cigs. When I first started smoking you could get 10 Berkley bombers for 80p

When bp garages were run by Mark's n Spencer.:fist:

thankfully, a long, long time after i quit :laugh: