The much-awaited financial strategy by Rachel Reeves got a cold-shoulder from most experts (except IMFʼs polite nod). Despite months-long preparation the plan didnt meet expectations for a growth-focused approach
The budget puts huge money into quick-fixes: about £12bn goes to health-care this year with another £10‚4bn next year. Its like putting all your eggs in one basket — most cash flows right into staff pay-raises which history shows doesnt always bring better results: back in early 2000s similar big-spending didnt fix core issues
Health Secretary Wes Streeting talks about changes but hasnt shown real action yet; he just started a “national chat“ about fixes. The health-care system keeps eating more money like a hungry beast — with older population growing its needs never stop
- Unrealistic defense spending freeze next year
- Home office cuts that depend on fixing boat crossings
- Extra 5000 tax workers to find hidden money
- New employer tax rules that might bring less than planned
The money-folks in the market dont like what they see: UK needs to sell £300bn in gilts this year while Bank of England dumps £100bn more into the mix. With other countries selling their own debt papers too its getting pretty crowded out there
Bond traders worry about the governments math: after the initial big-spend wave theres a plan to keep yearly increases at just 1‚3% which Paul Johnson from Institute for Fiscal Studies calls “same silly games“ as before. Markets see through these non-realistic numbers — showing first signs of getting nervous about UKs financial path