Sorry James, this is just not true. I ran comms at HMT and we *never* briefed out a specific measure weeks before a Budget. It’s a recipe for chaos. Most of these stories are educated guesswork or sometimes briefed by other departments trying to influence the Budget decision making process.

Exactly this. There is of course a danger that letting speculation run can cause problems. But no minister ever said income tax would rise. Journalism is becoming a real shitshow now and even the few decent correspondents get dragged down. And in this toxic environment, its so irresponsible.

This hysterical, knee jerk ‘journalism’ is tearing our country apart. WE can ignore it, but others are taken in. It’s exhausting.

Less is more! x

I tend to use x’s - but never two! 😱Always one or three - even numbers don’t feel right. Doesn’t the thought I put into the number of x’s I use prove that I’m a kinder kind of person? 😜