From the BBC article regarding the freezing of rail fares;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwygx71g3n7o
Specifically;
The announcement comes days before the chancellor sets out the government’s financial plans in the Budget on Wednesday, with Rachel Reeves indicating that cutting the cost of living will be a key focus.
Where to start? So many things, so little space. How about this;
Increase the personal allowance? Workers are breaking with their take home pay being diminished as living costs increase. The government is allowing every industry to strip the consumer, energy, supermarkets, property, it goes on and on.
The government has left the personal allowance as-is for five years, have a look at the following chart showing the last twenty years, and the associated retail and consumer price indexes for inflation.
| Year | PersonalAllowance | CPI % | RPI % |
| 2005 | £ 4,895.00 | 2 | 2.4 |
| 2006 | £ 5,035.00 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
| 2007 | £ 5,225.00 | 2.3 | 4.3 |
| 2008 | £ 6,035.00 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| 2009 | £ 6,475.00 | 2.2 | -1.2 |
| 2010 | £ 6,475.00 | 3.3 | 4.6 |
| 2011 | £ 7,475.00 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| 2012 | £ 8,105.00 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| 2013 | £ 9,440.00 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
| 2014 | £ 10,000.00 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| 2015 | £ 10,600.00 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | £ 11,000.00 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| 2017 | £ 11,500.00 | 3 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | £ 11,850.00 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
| 2019 | £ 12,500.00 | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 2020 | £ 12,500.00 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| 2021 | £ 12,570.00 | 2.6 | 4.6 |
| 2022 | £ 12,570.00 | 9.1 | 11.8 |
| 2023 | £ 12,570.00 | 5 | 6.9 |
| 2024 | £ 12,570.00 | 4 | 5 |
| 2025 | £ 12,570.00 | 3.6 | 4.5 |
Someone is taking the mickey.
My post on X: https://x.com/theslayford/status/1992523105517072884