George Osborne's December 5th Austerity Budget Selling Challenge

( scroll down for poem)
The Pantomime season in the UK roughly runs between December and February.

This year in London we have Tommy Steele in 'Scrooge' at the London Palladium which follows a run  of "The Wizard of Oz" in the great theatre .

Both stories share a word  - Humbug,

When Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Jacob Marley in a Christmas Carol he utters the phrase 'Bah Humbug'  as his view of Christmas. The Wizard of Oz  describes himself as a ’humbug’.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer,i George Osborne  made his ‘Autumn’ statement on December 5^th  scheduled at 12.30, in a month most would consider as in  the Winter season .

The news clips from the Palace of Westminster  have the look of 'pantomime' in the House of Commons as they debate  GAAR , 2013 Finance Bill, IR35  and such like.

Her majesty the Queen going to open Parliament earlier this year ( 2012)

We are at the halfway point of the current parliament.

Economic recovery is still far from secure, so improving conditions for the UK so to encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism, boosting growth is expressed in the statement.

Mr Osborne has told us that the economy of the UK wll shrink 01% and only grow 1.3% in 2013.

Corporation tax will be cut to 21p by 2014, small business rate releif will be extended  for a year and £1.5 billion more lending and guarentee for firms in £12 billion growth package.

Royal Guard at the State Opening of Parliament 2012


Many of the experts had asked for a common sense approach to the General Anti-Abuse Rule  (GAAR)


 

The CBI  outlined concerns that the newly proposed General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR), designed to target artificial and abusive tax avoidance, could be too wide and  lead to a series of unintended consequences.

Come what may ,part of the solution has to  come from the efforts of Salespeople.

The Chancellor has thrown down the challenge of the growth gauntlet that selling must pick up.

Nothing really happens in business, as they say, before a sale.



Guards Band returning to barracks
after state opening of Parliament 2012

A diversion for our times

From Old Possum's book of Cats (not) with apologies to TS Elliot

Austerity’s a Mystery Cat: he's called ‘the Haircut lore’

For he's the old economist whose pain must hurt the Poor.

He's the bafflement of OBR, the Treasury's despair:

For when they miss their forecast rate

 Austerity’s still there !

Austerity, Austerity there's no one like Austerity,

He's broken every human heart, the law of our reality.

His deprivation powers make old Scrooge  just stand and stare,

‘cause when you reach that budget day , Austerity’s still there!

“Expansive fiscal re-duction avoids UK’s despair ?”

But I tell you once and once again, Austerity’s still here!

Austerity, Austerity, there's no one like Austerity,

For he's a fiend ,in fiscal shape, a giant of depravity.

You may meet him in the high-street, you may see him in Edgware

But when the rate’s uncovered, then Austerity’s still there!

He's outwardly respectable. (Economies he **cks.)

And yet his footprints are not found in books of old Starbuck's.

And when the safe is looted, or the piggy -bank is rifled,

Or  Corporation tax not paid, or green shoots all but stifled,

Or  triple A ,the rate is lost, and  budget past repair

Ay, there's the blunder of the thing! Austerity’s still there!

There might have lost a Whitehall note left by one Mr. Blair

But it's useless to investigate-- Austerity’s still there!

And when the loss has been disclosed, then MI5 will say:

"It must have been Austerity!"--but he's a mile away.

You'll be sure to find him jesting, or a-twiddling of his thumbs,

Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Austerity, Austerity, there's no one like Austerity,

There never was a Cat of such undoubted perspicacity

He always has a mate in crime, or one or two to spare:

Whatever time the speech took place—AUSTERITY WASN'T THERE!

And they say of all the Cats whose wicked deeds are known

(I might mention Nick the Clegg  , I might mention Leverson(e)

Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the while

Just directs their operations:  with George Osborne’s  furtive smile! 

(Maybe that has the look of Scrooge ! ; )