There was one moment in Labour leader Keir Starmer's response to today's budget announcement that really captured something.
Having listened to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt talk for over an hour about how rosy the state of the country and the economy is before revealing a further £10 billion of tax cuts, Starmer had a few home truths to share.
He said: "After 14 years, who do they actually think feels better off?"
He went on to list the catalogue of crises facing this country after 14 years of Conservative rule. From flat productivity, to housing failures, soaring homelessness and sewage in our rivers.
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Listing many other stark failures, he added: "And all the time – one thing that is growing – the waiting lists in our NHS now nearly 8 million."
Make no mistake, the charge sheet against this government is enormous. Anyone who takes a look around this country today and the burning wreckage of its public services will see quite clearly how damaging the last 14 years have been.
And here was a chance for the Chancellor, possibly his last, to start to address some of these catastrophes. Maybe some money and a plan for homelessness? Maybe a new settlement and model for funding our collapsing local councils? Maybe even a real, substantial bid to tackle the emergency in our emergency departments.
Nope. Nada. Zilch.
Lets face it, this was not a budget aimed at tackling any of the spiralling disasters that this nation faces. It was all about trying to desperately elevate the Conservatives from their historically low polling level or, failing that, to make life as hard as physically possible for an incoming Labour government.
Nowhere was this clearer than in Hunt's screeching U-turn on non-dom rules. Having repeatedly told us that this was a move that would be bad for Britain - he today decided to mirror Labour's policy of removing the right of wealthy people to avoid tax on foreign earnings.
The key difference is that Labour intended to spend the money saved on expanding the exhausted and depleted NHS workforce, whereas the Chancellor says he will use the cash for what he believes to be further vote-winning tax cuts.
This move undoubtedly creates a headache for Labour - and that was a key theme of today's budget announcement.
The opposition have accused the Conservatives of employing a "scorched earth" strategy when it comes to the public finances, meaning that a new Labour government will have nothing to work with when they come into power and want to address some of the many problems the country faces.
Just think about that for a minute? A government, tasked with looking after the people of this country, using an economic announcement to create problems for those who look set to govern next. To hell with the needs of the public when there is political points to be scored, eh?
This was put into stark reality by Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies who pointed out that the Chancellor's plans for public spending will mean some public services having to be cut by as much as £20 billion per year by 2028. Where on earth those cuts are supposed to come from I have no idea.
The sad reality is that for this Conservative government, the dye is already cast. A previous National Insurance cut did nothing to improve their bleak polling and another one is unlikely to move the dial either.
But what they have been successful in doing is making life as hard as possible for those set to replace them and, as a consequence, the lives of many people in this country.
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A cynical budget aimed at winning votes and hurting Labour
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06.03.2024
There was one moment in Labour leader Keir Starmer's response to today's budget announcement that really captured something.
Having listened to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt talk for over an hour about how rosy the state of the country and the economy is before revealing a further £10 billion of tax cuts, Starmer had a few home truths to share.
He said: "After 14 years, who do they actually think feels better off?"
He went on to list the catalogue of crises facing this country after 14 years of Conservative rule. From flat productivity, to housing failures, soaring homelessness and sewage in our rivers.
READ MORE: 'Brothels' disguised as massage parlours raided by police
READ MORE: Hints at Anfield and airport 'transport' solution
Listing many other stark failures, he added: "And all the time – one thing that is growing – the waiting lists in our NHS now........
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