Labour are keen to depict the Budget as a flop
Having completed his speech to the House, Jeremy Hunt spent the afternoon doing the usual post-Budget rituals. Alongside a round of interviews, the Chancellor gave his traditional speech to the 1922 committee of Tory MPs. Normally, these appearances are accompanied by a round of cheers, applause and desk-banging of near-Pyongyang levels. Today the desk-banging lasted a mere three seconds in what some took to be a sign of the lack of enthusiasm which his Budget inspired. Turnout was low too: estimates put the attendance among MPs as between two to three dozen. ‘I never understand why we do these things a few hours after we’ve just heard the full speech’ remarked one Tory.
Hunt, a seasoned minister, performed well with the questions. David Duguid, MP for Banff and Buchan, raised concerns about the extension of the windfall tax on North Sea Oil.
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