Protests erupted in East Timor's capital Dili after a budget item, approved last year, assigned $4.2m to buy Toyota Prado SUVs for each of East Timor's 65 members of parliament, at a cost of $61,500 per vehicle. The plan triggered widespread anger in a nation where more than 40 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to World Bank statistics. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on September 15 demanding that parliamentarians vote to cancel the plan.
George Osbourne launched LISAs in his 2016 Budget. The idea was to help people save for their first home or retirement, but the product itself is not fit for that purpose and now costs the Government £3bn a year. The LISA allows the user to put in a maximum of £4,000 of savings a year, with the Government then adding a further 25% for every £1 contributed, thus giving a maximum saving of £5,000 a year.
More than 300 million pounds allocated to English councils for Ukrainian refugee accommodation remains unspent, while many face homelessness. This funds roughly a third of the one billion pound budget.
I would love it, but as you know, it's not funded. If Puff the Magic Dragon held a cigar party in the Palace of Versailles, you couldn't have any more smoke and mirrors than the Treasury has deployed today.
Folks I have got some great news. We're going to have some terrible weather on the East Coast on Saturday. And that means Trump's birthday parade may be canceled due to thunderstorms!