Autumn statement - some hard-hitting policies gushing on twitter

Osborne may be thinking he's got a surprise in there; I'm thinking "Will it fit, sideways?" If you've been keeping up with the world of finance in the UK, you'll know that everyone has been clutching their ring-pieces in anticipation of the 2012 Autumn Statement, revealed from London from 12:30pm today.

True to form, The Chancellor is not letting us down. In fact, George Osborne may well be to the working man in this decade what the Iron Lady was to us in the eighties.

However, taking an overview of the tweets cascading on twitter from @HM_Treasury, he's done exactly what he said he was going to. Give nothing to those on benefits, and just a little bit more than that to those in full time work.

Austerity measures will be with us for another five years (we told you that here last week) and £600M extra for science are just two revelations from the Autumn Statement streaming through twitter literally as I write. Rather than misinterpret them, I'll pin them here verbatim from The Treasury, with a fecktv.com/england gut reaction underneath and you can make your own mind up about each snippet:

Autumn Statement, Benefits:

“A 1% rise should apply to those in receipt of benefits.That’s fair and will ensure we have a welfare system Britain can afford.” #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

Will those on benefits only have to pay 1% inflation, then? "Britain can afford" it, but can those on benefits afford Britain?

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

Autumn Statement, Tax Cuts

“People working full time on the minimum wage will have seen their income tax bill cut in half....”

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

As we reported yesterday, there are a million more people in underemployment since the recession began who'll see feck all difference in their tax bill -
that was a sly feckin' move, Georie Porgie, wannit?

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

Autumn Statement, UK Top earners, threshold to be raised

"The higher rate threshold will be increased by 1% in the tax years 2014-15 and 2015-16." #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

The gulf between the rich and the poor gets wider; can't you tell it's Tory-time?

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

Autumn Statement, Tax Loopholes closed

Chancellor: “Hundreds of millions of pounds of tax loopholes are being closed with immediate effect” #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

And not before time - how much has slipped through the net already and who'll monitor/enforce this tightening?

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

Autumn Statement, No rise on fuel in January

Chancellor: “There will be no 3 pence fuel tax rise this January.” #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

There quite simply would have been mutiny on the forecourts - no real surprise, here

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

Autumn Statement, Closer to the £10k Tax bracket

From next April, personal allowance will rise by a further £235: a total increase next year of £1335 - the highest ever... #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

“...and we are within touching distance of the £10,000 personal allowance.” #AS2012

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) December 5, 2012

What Osborne promised he hath delivered: slight benefits for those in work offset by payments that don't work for those on benefits #AS2012...here endeth the lesson...

- FeckTV.com - (@JasonDFeckTVcom)

If you've not seen enough already, you can download the full Autumn Statement from the HM Treasury website.

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Have your say: Quite simply, what do you think of it? Is he trying to pull the wool over our eyes or has George Osborne delivered what he said he was going to all along?