In the middle of the Budget melee last week the Office for Budget Responsibility set the scene for a power struggle between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Louise Haigh. This one’s fun…
Haigh has been
tasked with making Andy Burnham’s grand promises for
“public control” of utilities a reality. On page 152 of its Budget
document, the OBR says the
“intention to further increase public control of the [water] industry” could mean
“the relevant assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure of providers would be incorporated to the public sector.” The OBR assess:
- The Government’s preferred measure of debt (public sector net financial liabilities) would go up by £78 billion, or 2.8 per cent of GDP, in one go. Painful…
- There would have been £7 billion additional Government borrowing in 2024-25 alone.
- By the end of this parliament, a massive £25 billion every year could be added to Government spending.
But the Chancellor’s debt target requires net financial liabilities to be falling as a share of GDP by 2029-30. His headroom is £24 billion, so he has no room for further nationalisations…
Healey is desperate for spare change, whereas Haigh is now tasked with adding to his bill. Who will give up first?
