Enda Brady: UK correspondent unpacks the 2024 Budget

Over in the UK, chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled her first Budget in the role.

The budget will raise taxes by £40 billion, the capital gains and inheritance taxes have been increased, minimum wage will increase by 6.7 percent - and a new 10-year plan for the NHS has been unveiled.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says this has been dubbed the 'shock and awe' budget - with plenty of short-term pain for long-term gain.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the Brady a UK correspondence with us Inda.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Hello, hello, had They're great, speak to you again?

Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right? Was there anything in that budget that you
were not expecting?

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah, I think the sheer scale of the tax rises.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
We knew things were going up, but we didn't realize
that the tax burden will be going up by eighty
billion en Z dollars. It's a huge, huge gamble by
Rachel Reeves. They're calling it the shock and awe budget
because nobody saw the scale of it, the ambition of it.
And look, if she gets it right, as she pointed
out in her speech in Parliament, the prize is enormous.

(00:33):
Britain back on its feet again, public service is working,
a thriving economy and yet there will be some short
term pain. But I think what she's looking for is
the impact of this down the road, maybe three or
four years, that people can stop seeing a health service
crumbling in front of their eyes, that can start driving
on roads that aren't riddled with potholes, and we can

(00:54):
kind of get Britain moving again. Of course, the one
big elephant in the room that nobody ever mentions is Brexit,
that has bled money out of this country.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Now for a decade.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
The problem that the only, I mean, the major problem
that I can foresee here is that it is going
to do the very thing that you don't want to do,
which is dissuade investment. Right if you've got that capital
gains text going up, is that any of you guys
worried about that at all?

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, she doesn't seem to be.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
And the three words she repeated were invest, invest, invest,
So she wants people to come in and get going
and start pumping cash into Britain. And look, London certainly
and other cities still hugely attractive to foreign investors. So
I think given time, the markets have not in any
way been spooked. I thought she spoke very well, and

(01:40):
a lot of people were licking their lips really sarcastically
at the little dig she made at Sunak when she
pointed out that he's leader did two more days until
the Conservatives appoint a new leader Saturday. But Rachel re
Has pointed out that the tax on flying in private
jets is going up by nine hundred dollars, and she

(02:00):
said that's on a flight to California, And she looked
directly at Sunak because he spends a lot of time
with his family in California, so there were moments of humor,
but I think all in all, let's just wait and
see if she can turn Britain around.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, interesting have been starkesman. They must have been frightening
for his family.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yes, So he was in Pakistan playing cricket for England
and a gang of hoodlums turned up in masks raided
the house, basically ripped jewelry from the family and crucially
as well what's been taken is his Obe medal. Now
Ben Stokes has put a statement out just saying how
angry he is that this has happened when his wife
and children were in the house in Durham Up in

(02:41):
the northeast of England and he was off playing cricket
in Pakistan representing his country.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
So shocking stuff and shame on them.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
And one interesting point Stokes said, He's not interested in guns.
My family are find what I'm interested in and why
I'm putting pictures of these items out for people to
name who did this so the police can catch them
and no family has to go through that again.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Quite now, Ryan Reynolds day, so he's to be as
he's brought to be a company or bought some.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Of he has.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yes, so this is this is a wonderful story. You
talk about investment and foreign money coming into the UK.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
So a few years.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Ago Ryan Reynolds teamed up with his acting mate from Hollywood,
Ryan McIlhenny.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
They bought Wrexham Football Club.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
So Wrexham, it's a Welsh club in with Norris disrespect
to Wrexham or the people, a struggling town, an economically
depressed town. They came in, they bought the soccer team.
There were a non league at the time, in the
fifth division of English and Welsh soccer. They've risen up
and there are now two promotions away from the Premier League.
So Rexham are absolutely flying on the soccer field. There

(03:47):
is a local brewery and they've decided now to buy
that as well.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
So I think in.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Terms of jobs, growth, investment, the name Wrexham going all
over the world because of course they have this TV
show Welcome to Wrexham, which is on all the streaming services.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
It's very very good.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
I think a lot of towns and football clubs will
just be wondering where can we get our hands on
someone like Reynolds and his mate McIlhenny, but Wrexham larger
will be going stateside.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Brilliant stuff. Hey, thank you so much and to talk
to you again next week. That's into Brady are UK correspondent.
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news Talks.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio