Hello and welcome to Not Another One, the podcast with me, Steve Richards, Ian Martin, Miranda Green and Tim Montgomery.

Ian's joined me. Miranda's about to join us, I think, but while we're waiting for

her, let's give our assessments of the budget. There are some advantages of doing it with some more

time for reflection. So, Ian, here is my general summary. As I said of my rock and roll politics

podcast, where I went into a lot more detail about the issue of economic growth and the lack of

it, pointing out that in the 1970s for all the challenges, the economy was growing. And it seems to me this is the context, navigating with

virtually no significant economic growth at a time of demands from Labour MPs, demands from

many others. In that context, she clearly did two things, and they were potentially contradictory.

She has pleased quite a lot of Labour MPs, though not all of them.

It's not a wholly united parliamentary Labour Party.

And she's pleased the markets.

And at the same time, she has done things.

I got a text from a cabinet minister emphatically not on the left,

saying it was the best day for the Labour government

because of the child poverty policy.

However, as long as there is no prospect of significant economic growth, these budgets will become a regular

feature of British life. They were under the Tories and they have been under Labour. And

tax rises inevitable to meet the never-ending demands. I also have worries that when you put up taxes,

and I see the need for these tax rises, but don't link it to improvements in people's lives,

whether it's earmarked for the NHS, earmark for whatever you want, they are very hard to sell.

And they've got to do something about that welfare bill.

And the failure to achieve welfare reform last summer is another context to this budget.

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