WTWN Spring Budget edition: Hunt keeps afloat as Sunak sinks

???Flying High:?Siobhan Baillie?

Brexit Pubs Guarantee, a swipe at the antics of the former Health Secretary, and even an ageist quip against the Deputy Speaker– the Spring budget had it all!??

Yet this week’s star is the Conservative MP for Stroud, who was recognised in the Chancellor’s budget speech for leading the charge on reforming the childcare system. Baillie, amongst many other women in Parliament, has lobbied for months for better support for working parents, teaming up with the thinktank Onward to push for commitments in the budget.??

The Chancellor’s announcement that he would expand free childcare for working parents in England turned out to be the budget’s headline moment. The promise received warm support from Labour, yet concerns were raised over the policy’s staggered introduction, which the government hopes will buy it time to address gaps in provision and the early years workforce.?

Baillie can be proud of her role in securing the biggest expansion to free childcare provision in history, but it will be a few years yet before the government can reap the benefits of this initiative. And with childcare being a key political battleground in the run up to the general election, it is unclear whether this will be enough to convince voters that the Conservatives are on the side of working parents.??

???Middle Ranking: Jeremy Hunt?

It wouldn’t be a budget special without a mention for the Chancellor who this week occupies the modest middle-spot. Against the backdrop of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and fallout from the "Kami-Kwasi" budget, Hunt’s self-styled “Budget for Growth” had to be responsible and cautious. But boring it was not.??

Hunt pitched his budget as focused on removing obstacles for business and addressing longstanding productivity challenges. Many of these measures will benefit the over 50s and parents of young children, which Hunt says will help people get back into and, crucially, stay in work. Labour says the Chancellor’s decision to scrap the lifetime allowance on tax-free pension contributions is unfair given that it will benefit the wealthiest 1%. Hunt, on the other hand, believes it necessary to keep experienced professionals, such as NHS doctors, from retiring.?

With 44% of NHS consultants threatening to leave in the next twelve months, half of which to retirement, this measure was welcomed by the Chair of the British Medical Association’s Pensions Committee.?But the NHS continues to face ongoing workforce challenges, the solving of which is crucial to delivering better outcomes, which is of course crucial to the Tories’ prospects at the next general election. ?

???Sinking Low:?Rishi Sunak?

Having orchestrated the Windsor Framework and restored the Entente Cordiale against the odds, it seemed like things had been going swimmingly for the PM of late. Yet Sunak landed himself in hot water this week after reports emerged that he’d personally paid for an electricity grid upgrade to heat his private swimming pool at his constituency home.??

It is no secret that Sunak is a wealthy man, and whilst reports suggest that he didn’t receive preferential treatment, the timing of this leak was uncomfortable. While many people across the country continue to limit their energy usage in a bid to drive down bills, this news will not help change the perception that he is out of touch with British people; a point that Labour will continue to hammer home. It remains to be seen how crucial it is to voters that Sunak is seen to be living in the lap of luxury. ?