A Conservative victory: now what?

 

The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto is now the starting point for the Government agenda for the next five years. The majority which the Party now has, with many new MPs, will mean a sea change from that of the hand-to-mouth Government of the past two and a half years.

In theory that majority allows Boris Johnson to flesh out what was a relatively thin manifesto in whatever way he wishes. A repeat of the forced U-turn which marked the first Budget of the previous Government looks nearly impossible: a majority of around 70 allows the Prime Minister to face down not only the remnants of the official opposition, but also pockets of opposition (think ERG) within his own party.

We can now look forward to a Budget in February. Sajid Javid, who has already been confirmed as Chancellor, may now choose to revert to the previous norm of giving the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) ten weeks’ notice to prepare an Economic and Financial Outlook. That means a Budget date at the end of the month, possibly 26th. As a reminder, from a financial planning viewpoint, the Conservatives’ main manifesto proposals were:

Personal Taxes

Businesses

Social Care

Social Security, Housing

Private Pensions

Tuition Fees

Summary

The currency markets, once described as the real official opposition, have pushed sterling up by around 2.5%, with Sterling crossing $1.35 and €1.20.