Last month's Budget was the usual sorry affair with the Chancellor failing to impress. In what many...
Last month's Budget was the usual sorry affair with the Chancellor failing to impress.
In what many people are calling Mr Brown's last Budget speech, changes to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) and stamp duty thresholds and a lack of NHS funding disappointed many and will probably make little difference in the long run.
Despite increasing the IHT threshold from £275,000 to £325,000 over the next four years, Mr Brown's gesture has impressed few commentators.
If the rapid rise in house prices over the last few years are anything to go by, in four years the IHT alteration is unlikely to make any difference.
With the average detached house in the UK costing £285,000, if trends persist, what will it cost in 2010?
Unsurprisingly, the news has not been warmly received among lenders and intermediaries, who have criticised Mr Brown, saying the increase is not in line with house price inflation and does little to restore the already eroded public confidence in the Government.
Mr Brown's failure to boost spending on the NHS also speaks volumes about its future.
Despite pumping money into the ailing sector until 2008, 2,000 jobs have been cut in recent weeks and the numbers of beds at certain NHS trust hospitals have been slashed.
Private medical insurance providers and intermediaries have long bemoaned the sinking ship that is the NHS, and Mr Brown's silence on the matter does not look promising. But only time will tell.
Angela Faherty, editor
