Thursday 20 March 2014

Budget 2014: Osborne appeals to the Tory core

CHANCELLOR George Osborne produced a Budget aimed at attracting some of the straying core Conservative vote back from UKIP ahead of next year's general election.

Osborne described his fifth Budget as being one for "the makers, the doers and the savers" as he announced an end to tax restrictions on pensioners' access to their pension pots.

In practical terms, this means that pensioners will no longer be required to purchase an annuity, instead gaining the opportunity to a big chunk of their savings pot to spend early in their retirement.

They will have to pay income tax on that - but the taxable part of a pension pot taken as cash on retirement will be charged at normal income tax rate, usually 20%, down massively from 55%.

The policy is, however, not without concern as it opens up the possibility of pensioners frittering away their hard-earned gains, leaving themselves poorer in their final few years.

Alternatively, the argument favoured by Mr Osborne is that pensioners can be - and should be - trusted to look after their own money, and that this liberal reform of the pensions system allows them much more control of their own affairs.

For savers frustrated by low interest rates, Osborne has introduced a new tax-free ISA from 1 July which will allow investors to put in up to £15,000-a-year in either cash or shares.

Of course, having £15,000 spare is not exactly commonplace for most of us.

Nevertheless, the other big Budget measure was more helpful to the wider working population with the decision to increase the personal allowance to £10,500 from 2015.

At the beginning of the Parliament, the allowance stood at just £6,475 so there has been an increase of £4,025 in five years, something worth £805 to a 20% taxpayer.

This has been a flagship policy of the Liberal Democrats - and, while the Conservatives have attempted to take some credit for it, the Lib Dems can point towards the fact they have campaigned for this long before they were in government.

Anyway, with the increased allowance now having been implemented, Nick Clegg's beleaguered junior coalition partners at least have one genuine thing to shout about when canvassing the doorsteps. It is just about the only thing, though.

In other matters altogether, this was another decent Budget for drivers and drinkers, and there was an added bonus for bingo players.

Osborne confirmed that the planned rise in fuel duty in September had again been scrapped.

Meanwhile duty on spirits and ordinary cider was frozen. Beer duty was even cut by a penny to the obvious delight of CAMRA chief executive Mike Benner.

Mr Benner said: "CAMRA is delighted to see the Chancellor implementing an unprecedented second consecutive cut of 1p in beer duty.

"This is not only about keeping the price of a pint affordable in British pubs but helping an industry which has been in overall decline continue on its long road to recovery.

"No doubt many of our 160,000 members will be raising a glass to the Chancellor this evening to toast another brilliant Budget for British beer drinkers."

Never mind that - bingo players will be raising their dabber pens after a surprise announcement that taxes in bingo halls are to be halved, from 20% to 10%.



Yet even this fairly innocuous Budget element has rather backfired following a ludicrous online poster (pictured above), tweeted by Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps.

The text, which reads "Cutting the bingo tax and beer duty to help hardworking people do more of the things they enjoy", frankly defies belief.

Lib Dem Treasury minister Danny Alexander was so stunned, he thought the poster was initially a spoof, adding it was "rather patronising" and "demeans some sensible things in the Budget".

It was not all good news for the gambling industry, though - duty on fixed-odds betting terminals increased to 25%.

Finally, among the main duties, tobacco will rise by 2% above inflation and this escalator will be extended beyond the next general election.

Just quite whether Mr Osborne will still be Chancellor after 2015 will be decided at the ballot box - but there are some signs, at last, of an economic recovery.

Growth has been revised upwards to 2.7% this year and 2.3% next year, then by 2.6% in 2016 and 2017.

Meanwhile, government borrowing is set to fall year-on-year until 2018-19 when there is expected to be a first Budget surplus since 2001.

That is still half a Parliament longer than originally planned and, consequently, Mr Osborne has set a cap on the welfare budget at £119bn for 2015-16.

The restriction includes child benefit, incapacity benefit, winter fuel payment and income support - but does not include the state pension or Jobseeker's Allowance.

Labour has said it will NOT oppose the cap when it is voted on in Parliament next week, but leader Ed Miliband still condemned the coalition for running an "economy of the privileged, by the privileged, for the privileged".

It has not really been Labour, though, which Mr Osborne has thought about when compiling this Budget.

Instead, the looming prospect of UKIP damaging the Tories' chances of being re-elected has been tackled head on.

Nigel Farage's party will surely still do well at the European elections in May, its euroscepticism being its best-known and arguably most potent policy.

But when it comes to who runs the country in just over a year's time, it might be a different matter altogether.

Those ageing, straying true blue Tories may well realise the futility of a UKIP vote in their constituency so that they drift back to their natural home.

And for those of a certain age still making up their minds, Mr Osborne's pensions overhaul could well be the deciding factor.

Sunday 16 March 2014

Six Nations: Ireland give O'Driscoll the perfect send-off



BRIAN O'DRISCOLL bowed out in perfect style as Ireland won the Six Nations with a momentous victory in Paris.

The Irish prevailed 22-20 at the Stade de France for only their second win on French soil in 42 years - and, as the scoreline suggests, the match was a thrilling, topsy-turvy affair.

Despite tries from Jonathan Sexton and Andrew Trimble, Ireland went in 13-12 down at the break after Yoann Huget had brilliantly tapped the ball back for full-back Brice Dulin to score.

Ireland, knowing from earlier results that any win would do, also knew they had to wrestle back control of the match at the start of the second period.

Typically, O'Driscoll obliged with a drive for the line which was cut just short - but, with the French defence still in disarray, Sexton capitalised and converted, adding a penalty to stretch Ireland's lead to nine points.

Still the French would not lay down, and a sustained spell of pressure resulted in Dimitri Szarzewski scoring at the base of the posts to cut the lead back to two.

Indeed, it seemed, with 10 minutes left, as if France might just sneak it - just as they had against England on the opening weekend.

But a sliced penalty by replacement scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain was simply a precursor for the complete mess which the French made of the final attack of the game.

Vincent Debaty found Damien Chouly in plenty of space on the flank but his pass, with which he had a lot of room for error, was clearly forward.

Chouly crossed the line but it was all in vain. Ireland had prevailed, and O'Driscoll had his fairytale finish.

Earlier, England had made a gallant attempt at closing in on Ireland's points lead of +49 by scoring a half-century in Rome against wooden spoon winners Italy.

Mike Brown (2), Owen Farrell, Jack Nowell, Mako Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi, and Chris Robshaw all scored in a 52-11 win but Leonardo Sarto's intercept try for the Italians left England relying on the French.

This was effectively as a consequence of their galling opening weekend defeat in Paris.

Yet, despite that early set-back, and if a little rueful, Stuart Lancaster should reflect on this Six Nations with great encouragement.

Save for a poor first few minutes and last few minutes against the French, England could have even won the Grand Slam.

Scotland were kept pointless for the first time against the Auld Enemy since 1978, before Lancaster's men held their nerve to come back from 10-3 down against Ireland.

Next came Wales, the reigning champions who denied England a Grand Slam in Cardiff a year ago with a crushing defeat.

England gained a morsel of revenge, playing some wonderful running rugby in the beautiful spring sunshine to win 29-18 and take the Triple Crown for the first time since 2003.

The tries came from Danny Care and Luther Burrell with only Leigh Halfpenny's boot keeping the Welsh in the contest beyond half time as they made a wretched second defence of their title.

Beaten by both Ireland and England, Wales' best match of the championship came against a typically enigmatic French side who did not turn up on the day.

Of course, there was also a 51-3 thumping of Scotland to enjoy - but that said more about the visitors to the Millennium Stadium than the home side.

Reduced to 14 men after just 22 minutes following Stuart Hogg's dismissal for a reckless tackle, the Scots' defence caved in either side of half time, and they conceded seven tries in all.

The result rounded off another terrible Six Nations for Scotland who have still failed to win more than one match in consecutive tournaments since the expansion in 2000.

Undoubtedly, the most painful defeat was being kept scoreless by England on the second weekend in the Calcutta Cup match.

Murrayfield has been a venue of many broken English dreams in recent years - but Scotland were so pathetically bad, there was even the cheeky suggestion that they should withdraw from the championship to save themselves further embarrassment.

That almost came in Rome, with Italy leading the Scots 20-18 with just one attack left.

A Duncan Weir drop goal spared Scotland's blushes on that occasion but, in a reversal of fortune, the Scots could do nothing as France left it equally late to win their match 19-17.

Indeed, the French were the kings of the late win in this tournament in which, as their +1 points difference demonstrates, they played as unconvincingly as ever.

Narrow wins over England and Scotland, that narrow defeat to Ireland and a heavier one against Wales, only victory over Italy was secured with any degree of comfort.

For Philippe Saint-Andre's men, this Six Nations was certainly a case of "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose".

Much the same could also be said of the Italians. The encouraging signs in the set-piece keep threatening an Italian breakthrough but the Azzurri run out of steam far too easily.

Of the 21 tries they conceded, two-thirds were in the second half, and this was Italy's 10th wooden spoon in 15 years.

By contrast, this was only Ireland's second championship in the last 29 years, the other coming in the Grand Slam-winning year of 2009.

There was no Grand Slam this time but it is difficult to see at least one Leinster man at least worrying too much about that.

Ireland had, of course, worked tirelessly for this triumph. Nevertheless, for some weeks now, the Paris air must have been sprinkled with fairy-dust in anticipation of O'Driscoll's arrival.

He did not let his country down. Instead, he gave it a St Patrick's Day to savour.

RBS 6 NATIONS 2014: FINAL TABLE 
(T) Tries

WDLFA(T)Pts
IRELAND40113249168
ENGLAND40113865148
WALES30212279116
FRANCE30210110096
SCOTLAND1044713842
ITALY0056317270

RBS 6 NATIONS 2014: THE RESULTS
1 Feb 14:30WALES 23-15 ITALYMillennium Stadium
1 Feb 17:00FRANCE 26-24 ENGLANDStade de France
2 Feb 15:00IRELAND 28-6 SCOTLANDAviva Stadium
8 Feb 14:30IRELAND 26-3 WALESAviva Stadium
8 Feb 17:00SCOTLAND 0-20 ENGLANDMurrayfield
9 Feb 15:00FRANCE 30-10 ITALYStade de France
21 Feb 20:00WALES 27-6 FRANCEMillennium Stadium
22 Feb 13:30 ITALY 20-21 SCOTLANDStadio Olimpico
22 Feb 16:00ENGLAND 13-10 IRELANDTwickenham
8 Mar 14:30IRELAND 46-7 ITALYAviva Stadium
8 Mar 17:00SCOTLAND 17-19 FRANCEMurrayfield
9 Mar 15:00ENGLAND 29-18 WALESTwickenham
15 Mar 12:30ITALY 11-52 ENGLANDStadio Olimpico
15 Mar 14:45WALES 51-3 SCOTLANDMillennium Stadium
15 Mar 17:00FRANCE 20-22 IRELANDStade de France

RBS 6 NATIONS 2014: TOP POINTS SCORERS
66 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
64 Owen Farrell (England)
51 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
27 Jean-Marc Doussain (France)
26 Maxime Machenaud (France)
21 Tommaso Allan (Italy)
20 Mike Brown (England)
19 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
16 Danny Care (England)
15 Luther Burrell (England), Yoann Huget (France), George North (Wales), Andrew Trimble (Ireland)
14 Dan Biggar (Wales)
12 Luciano Orquera (Italy)
11 Paddy Jackson (Ireland)

RBS 6 NATIONS 2014: TRY SCORERS
4 Mike Brown (England), Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
3 Luther Burrell (England), Yoann Huget (France), George North (Wales), Andrew Trimble (Ireland)
2 Michele Campagnaro (Italy), Danny Care (England), Alex Dunbar (Scotland), Rob Kearney (Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Leonardo Sarto (Italy)
1 Tommaso Allan (Italy), Hugo Bonneval (France), Sean Cronin (Ireland), Alex Cuthbert (Wales), Brice Dulan (France), Taulupe Faletau (Wales), Owen Farrell (England), Gael Fickou (France), Wesley Fofana (France), Joshua Furno (Italy), Cian Healy (Ireland), Jamie Heaslip (Ireland), Chris Henry (Ireland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Tommaso Iannone (Italy), Paddy Jackson (Ireland), Fergus McFadden (Ireland), Jack McGrath (Ireland), Jack Nowell (England), Louis Picamoles (France), Chris Robshaw (England), Tommy Seymour (Scotland), Dmitri Szarzewski (France), Manu Tuilagi (England), Maku Vunipola (England), Sam Warburton (Wales), Liam Williams (Wales), Rhodri Williams (Wales), Scott Williams (Wales)

Friday 14 March 2014

F1 2014: Ripe for renewal


LEWIS HAMILTON is being hotly tipped to win a second world title as Formula One receives a much-needed shot in the arm from a whole raft of technological changes.

Hamilton's team Mercedes has appeared to adapt better than its rivals to the new regulations - and the Briton thus has high hopes that the German outfit can supply him with a car good enough to land a second Championship, six years after his first.

Of course, much of the intervening period has seen Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team utterly dominate the sport.

The German won a fourth successive Drivers' Championship - and it was ultimately his most clear-cut success yet as he racked up nine consecutive race wins, a record for a single season.

But, sadly for F1 in 2013 - which had actually begun brightly with several different winners - the repetitive Vettel victories in the second half of the season eventually became an exercise in tedium.

The streak could even be said to have been aided and abetted by rival teams, some of whom openly admitted they had already shifted their focus to 2014.

At least Vettel will find it more difficult this year - indeed, it could be a real struggle if Red Bull's form in winter testing is anything to go by.

The champions hit a new low in the second spell of Bahrain testing where Vettel failed even to complete a single lap.

But the irony of the situation is that, if the German can still get some big results in a bang average car, he may actually enhance his overall reputation.

One driver who knows plenty about that sort of thing is Fernando Alonso.

For some years now, the Spaniard has outperformed a Ferrari team which has finished third in the Constructors' Championship for three of the last four years.

With so many changes going into 2014, the Italians simply must see this as a chance to win back that title for the first time since 2008 - and the Drivers' Championship for the first time since 2007.

That title, seven years ago, was won by the 'Ice Man' Kimi Räikkönen and, following a couple of years rallying and a couple more at Lotus, the Finn is back at Ferrari.

His arrival provides us with a fascinating in-house rivalry but it could, of course, work against both drivers.

After all, sooner rather than later, one of the two drivers will need to be favoured, although it is not just at Ferrari where this is an issue.

At Mercedes too, Hamilton will receive plenty of competition from his German team-mate Nico Rosberg, and the team may have also dropped a clanger in bizarrely parting ways with phenomenal technician Ross Brawn.

The situation at McLaren is rather clearer. Ron Dennis is firmly back in charge and Jenson Button is the Woking-based team's obvious number one, lining up alongside Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen.

The Frome Flyer really must use his position to is advantage - although he can only hope McLaren provides a better car than last season's unprecedented disaster.

Williams also struggled last year, as it has for some years now. However, with a Mercedes engine and the best livery (pictured) on the grid thanks to sponsorship from Martini, the Oxfordshire team wants to show it will not just be a pretty face.

Felipe Massa arrives from Ferrari, a good match with both team and driver seemingly in need of a pick up.

How apt it would be if the Brazilian Massa could deliver it with a race win, 20 years on from the ill-timed loss of his compatriot Ayrton Senna - who met his tragic end in a Williams, of course.

Certainly, Williams can look forward to this season with great optimism and an expectation that it can leapfrog the trio of respectable mid-table bunch - Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso.

Even the Lotus, fourth in the Constructors' race last year, is eminently catchable after a truly dire winter in which the E22 somehow completed fewer laps than the new Red Bull.

Added to that, Lotus has opted for the curious strategy of retaining Romain Grosjean (though he  improved last year) and pairing him with another crash-happy driver, Pastor Maldonado.

Yes, Lotus could be the team to watch in 2014 - but only for all of the wrong reasons.

Finally, there come the stragglers. For, although the sport this year is expected to bring a whirlwind of change, the backmarkers will feature familiar names and faces.

Caterham, who finished bottom last year, fields Kamui Kobayashi and Swedish debutant Marcus Ericsson, both of whom have owner Tony Fernandes' threat to quit F1 ringing in their ears.

But, at least, there is more hope at Marussia, which - with Ferrari engines - may raise a challenge to Toro Rosso.

This is good news, of course, for the third Briton on the grid, Max Chilton, who became the only driver to finish every race of his rookie season last year

However, the 22-year-old from Reigate will need to get much closer to his French team-mate Jules Bianchi for 2014 to be considered a success.

Frankly though, at this stage, who knows what is going to happen between now and the final race in Abu Dhabi where the horribly-gimmicky double points will be awarded.

At least that will probably mean the title goes to the wire - but only after the best season in years for thrills and spills anyway.

The campaign begins in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. Qualifying will be held at 6am GMT on Saturday with the race starting 24 hours later.


ON THE GRID
RED BULL-RENAULT
1Sebastian Vettel (GER)GPs 120Pole 45Wins 39
3Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)GPs 50Pole 0Wins 0

MERCEDES
6Nico Rosberg (GER)GPs 147Pole 4Wins 3
44Lewis Hamilton (GBR)GPs 129Pole 31Wins 22

FERRARI
7Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)GPs 194Pole 16Wins 20
14Fernando Alonso (ESP)GPs 217Pole 22Wins 32

LOTUS-RENAULT
8Romain Grosjean (FRA)GPs 45Pole 0Wins 0
13Pastor Maldonado (VEN)GPs 58Pole 1Wins 1

MCLAREN-MERCEDES
20Kevin Magnussen (DEN)GPs 0Pole 0Wins 0
22Jenson Button (GBR)GPs 249Pole 8Wins 15

FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES
11Sergio Pérez (MEX)GPs 58Pole 0Wins 0
27Nico Hülkenberg (GER) GPs 58Pole 1Wins 0

SAUBER-FERRARI
21Esteban Gutiérrez (MEX)GPs 19Pole 0Wins 0
99Adrian Sutil (GER)GPs109Pole 0Wins 0

TORO ROSSO-RENAULT
25Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA)GPs 39Pole 0Wins 0
26Daniil Kvyat (RUS)GPs 0Pole 0Wins 0

WILLIAMS-MERCEDES
19Felipe Massa (BRZ)GPs 193Pole 15Wins 11
77Valtteri Bottas (FIN)GPs 19Pole 0Wins 0

MARUSSIA-FERRARI
4Max Chilton (GBR)GPs 19Pole 0Wins 0
17Jules Bianchi (FRA)GPs 19Pole 0Wins 0

CATERHAM-RENAULT
9Marcus Ericsson (SWE)GPs 0Pole 0Wins 0
10Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)
GPs 60Pole 0Wins 0

2014 RACE CALENDAR
As with the last two seasons, Sky will broadcast every race on their dedicated channel (Sky 408). Where Sky is listed in the column below, the satellite channel will have exclusively live coverage and the BBC will only show extended (delayed) highlights. The BBC has live coverage of nine races where its name is listed below, notably omitting Monaco in May.

DateTV
Pole positionFastest lapWinner
16 MarchSkyAustralian Grand PrixHamiltonRosbergRosberg
30 MarchBBCMalaysian Grand PrixHamiltonHamiltonHamilton
6 AprilSkyBahrain Grand PrixRosbergRosbergHamilton
20 AprilSkyChinese Grand Prix


11 MayBBCSpanish Grand Prix


25 MaySkyMonaco Grand Prix


8 JuneBBCCanadian Grand Prix


22 JuneSkyAustrian Grand Prix


6 JulyBBCBritish Grand Prix


20 JulySkyGerman Grand Prix


27 JulySkyHungarian Grand Prix


24 AugustBBCBelgian Grand Prix


7 SeptemberBBCItalian Grand Prix


21 SeptemberSkySingapore Grand Prix


5 OctoberBBCJapanese Grand Prix


12 OctoberBBCRussian Grand Prix


2 NovemberSkyUnited States Grand Prix


9 NovemberSkyBrazilian Grand Prix


23 NovemberBBCAbu Dhabi Grand Prix