Floating budgets

It seems to have become common practice for the Treasury to "leak" possible budget measures to see what reactions ensue - from economists, political parties, the media, lobbying groups - without necessarily intending to include them in the budget.

It started with George Osbourne. He leaked the pasty tax proposal; cue high street (and Cornish) anger, leading to a much milder form in the actual budget of 2012. Ditto a "caravan tax", which enraged Conservative voters and their MPs and never appeared in the budget. In an earlier budget the department floated information about child benefit and welfare cuts; the responses enabled him to decide which, and to what extent, measures were finally enacted. The practice has continued through Philip Hammond, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt.

Now Rachel Reeves is at it. In recent weeks we've heard about freezing tax thresholds, property and wealth taxes, breaching manifesto promises and pension entitlements.

This is no way to run a government. In the old days (cue 1970s sound track) the concept of budget purdah prevailed - no knowledge of budget proposals outside a small government circle and definitely no discussing of, publishing of or even hinting at them before budget day. MPs of all parties were not "in the know". The rationale was to protect markets from insider knowledge, respect Parliament’s primacy and to avoid confusion and pre-emptive lobbying. In other words, grown up government rather than schoolboy politics. Gordon Brown was the last to adhere to the traditional secrecy, allegedly to the nth degree.

The old ways feel better, don't you think?