Rishi sunak sets out 2021 budget 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined plans for government spending in his 2021 autumn budget. The briefing, held on Wednesday, set out a series of initiatives with the influence of the Coronavirus looming large.

Despite the obvious impact of Covid-19, Sunak said that the effects of the pandemic had not been as detrimental as he might have feared and adopted a positive tone throughout the briefing. 

"Employment is up. Investment is growing. Public services are improving. The public finances are stabilising. And wages are rising,"  he said to MP’s during his announcement.

"Today's Budget delivers a stronger economy for the British people: stronger growth, with the UK recovering faster than our major competitors."

One of his key points was a reversing of cuts to universal credit to help lower income families receiving financial support. There were also changes to the taper rate, which is the amount that those on universal credit lose for money they earn about their allocated allowance. Under new rules the amount lost on each pound would go down from 63p to 55p and will be brought in on the 1st of December to help mitigate a winter finances squeeze. Sunak said that this will provide 2 million families with an average boost of £1000 per year. 

There will also be a radical overhaul of how alcohol is taxed, with the new system declared a simplification based solely on the strength of the beverage with drinks over 11% facing a price hike. For example, pint fans will be able to quietly rejoice as draught lager duty was reduced by 3p whereas an average bottle of wine will increase by around 47p. Fans of the stronger stuff need not worry yet as the changes aren’t set to come into play until 2023. 

As is always the case when a budget is announced, the opposition had their opposing opinion. The criticism was led by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves following Keir Starmer's withdrawal due to covid. In her rebuttal she accused Sunak of “loading the burden” onto the general population following a period of mismanagement during the pandemic. 

“Families struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, businesses hit by a supply chain crisis, those who rely on our schools and hospitals and our police – they won’t recognise the world the Chancellor is describing.” Reeves said in the commons following the budget briefing.

“They will think he is living in a parallel universe.”

Other takeaways from the budget

• Living wage to rise by 6.6% from April 2022
• 50% business rates discount for leisure, hospitality and retail businesses between 2022 and 2023 up to £110,000
• £2.2bn for courts and prisons with a focus on reducing the current backlog of court cases
• £6bn to clear NHS backlog
• £7bn for northern transport infrastructure
• Additional £4.7bn for schools to be delivered by 2025