Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Hammond's case is empty
The budget pays lip-service to Labour policies but with no intention of actually ending austerity, says ROBERT GRIFFITHS

It’s a “jam tomorrow” Budget from Chancellor Philip Hammond and is unlikely to fool millions of people who are struggling to get by. They see and experience local services continuing to deteriorate, whether it’s longer waiting times in the NHS, cancelled operations, the closure of facilities for the elderly and young people, school requests for parental donations, the extinguishing of street lights at night or the disappearance of community police officers.

It appears as though the main purpose of the budget was to press-gang MPs and the public into supporting the Tory government’s hoped-for bogus Brexit deal. Hence Hammond’s warning over the weekend that a “no deal” Brexit would mean an emergency replacement Budget that would maintain if not intensify austerity.

It’s an old and impotent trick — his predecessor George Osborne threatened just such an emergency Budget should the people vote Leave in May 2016, although nothing transpired except Osborne’s emergency exit from 11 Downing Street.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
The skyline of Canary Wharf in London as the cold snap continues to grip much of the nation, February 14, 2021
Banking / 28 July 2026
28 July 2026

Burnham urged to raise taxes on banks after Barclays reveals 30% rise in pre-tax profits

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tours Palantir Technologies headquarters with company employees and British military personnel in Washington DC, February 27, 2025
Politics / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE

Coins in a Saltire purse
Features / 7 May 2026
7 May 2026

Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stands next to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as he acknowledges guests during a visit to the Benn Partnership Centre, a community centre in Rugby, Warwickshire, November 27, 2025
Features / 28 November 2025
28 November 2025

The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE