James Forsyth James Forsyth

Budget eve

In stark contrast to 2003, when Gordon Brown delivered his Budget on the same day that Baghdad fell, the Treasury is phlegmatic about the Budget being overshadowed by Britain’s involvement in a conflict overseas. But the signs are that this will be, within the obvious fiscal constraints, an ambitious Budget. Tonight, we have had confirmation of a raise in the income tax allowance to £8,000, something that will please the Lib Dems . Tomorrow, we’ll almost certainly get at least one unexpected rabbit out of the hat.

What we do know is that the Budget and the growth review will be built around four things: deregulation, planning reform, tax simplification and targeted investment. On deregulation, Osborne’s problem is that however radical he is, he can’t do anything about the slew of regulations coming out of Brussels. The planning reforms will be significant and I expect that on this issue, Osborne will be prepared to pick a fight with the more NIMBYist tendencies in his own party.

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