Budget analysis: Policy

Speed Read: The Chancellor's final Budget of the Parliament was heralded as a 'workmanlike Budget' with little substantial change expected. However, despite limited room for manoeuvre, the Budget includes a number of telling policy decisions. In a return to the late 1990s, this Budget includes carefully crafted policy measures that seek to influence behaviour. This article identifies some oddities and surprises in the Budget publications and considers what lessons we might draw from past experience before and after an election.