Budget 2018: From the back pages

The Budget appears even less persuasive than it did before

On Budget Day, it’s difficult to think about any news other than the Union Budget. Especially in the past decade, as the Budget has become simultaneously less powerful and less clear, when major changes in orientation or policy stance can be buried in appendices or annexures or amendments tacked on the Finance Bill, it feels like the Budget should claim all our attention for a week. 

But two other pieces of news on Budget Day should claim our attention — for what they say about the pressures that go into the Budget, as well as reasons why the Budget might well