A large amount of the austerity factored into former chancellor George Osborne’s plans has been “stripped out”, Woodford said.
He added that the “observable difference between chancellor Hammond’s approach and that of his predecessor” was more interesting than the content of the budget itself.
Hammond’s approach has been to include more than £100bn of extra borrowing in his economic plans over the next five years.
“Of some note is the £16bn ‘windfall’, which is the reduction in borrowing for this financial year compared to what was forecast in November – a product of the better economic performance of the economy than had been expected at the time,” Woodford said.
“Although Hammond is proposing extra funding in areas such as education and social care, he isn’t spending all of the improvement – he is putting the majority of it to one side for a rainy day, or for later in the political cycle, whichever comes first.”
