Vocal Voices

They are:

• to halve inflation

• to grow the economy

• to reduce debt

• to cut hospital waiting lists

• to stop migrant crossings.

Fine words, but how will they be achieved? What practical steps are to be taken, and when? There are no details, just the words.

"But I know this is just the start of what we need to do to build a better Britain together," he says.

"Others may talk about change - I will deliver it.

"I won't offer you false hope or quick fixes, but meaningful lasting change... I pledge that I will be honest about the challenges we face, and I will take the tough but necessary decisions.

"I will only promise what I can deliver," the PM concludes.

Well, Mr Sunak, they do look like false hopes and promises and you can bet your last £1million that we will be holding you to all of them. You had better deliver.

I have a bridge to sell him!

Snap reaction:

Workingman wrote:They are:

• to halve inflation - eminently achievable, albeit given the right global conditions.

• to grow the economy - see above. Couldn't do much worse, I guess

• to reduce debt - whose debt, his Government's or mine?

• to cut hospital waiting lists - in your dreams

• to stop migrant crossings - obviously having a giraffe

Fine words butter no parsnips, Mr Sunak.

What was so annoying is that none of the journalists at the briefing asked him "How and when?" They gave him an easy ride.

If inflation is halved it is still inflation of 5% to 6%. What does grow the economy mean? 0.1% to 0.3% is growth but falls well short of what we had a couple of years ago. It will take a while at 4% or 5% to catch up. How much will we reduce the debt? If it not 0% it is still a growing debt. When will we be at a point of paying some of it off?

Kaz wrote:Fine words butter no parsnips, Mr Sunak.

Precisely.

Workingman wrote:If inflation is halved it is still inflation of 5% to 6%. What does grow the economy mean? 0.1% to 0.3% is growth but falls well short of what we had a couple of years ago. It will take a while at 4% or 5% to catch up. How much will we reduce the debt? If it not 0% it is still a growing debt. When will we be at a point of paying some of it off?

Inflation halved just means they couldn't work out a way to get it back to 2%. Which, let us remember, is the BOE target. They will keep hammering us with interest rate rises until we all die or the inflation starts to fall. If the Government also try to cut inflation we could get significant overshoot on that target.

Grow the economy? There was no budget for growth. If you want to grow the economy you have to stimulate it. The last budget was not a stimulation budget for an economy, it was a wet blanket to smother it.

Because they will be running high inflation (5% maybe), for the long term, debt will continue to grow. Because the economy is not stimulated it won't grow so debt will continue to mount.

This was always going to be the result of Sunak's budget. Truss' budget was for growth. His is not.