Phillip Wickenden: Frozen thresholds and the art of distraction

There's an old magician's trick that works just as well in Westminster as on stage: the art of distraction. While your attention is drawn to the dramatic flourishes - promises of artificial intelligence (AI) investment, green growth, or council tax rebates - the real action takes place in the quiet corners. And this Autumn, it looks like the chancellor's sleight of hand will be working overtime. The headline act? More of the same - but tighter. The Autumn Budget is shaping up to be less a moment of radical reimagining and more the next movement in a long symphony of fiscal drag. In tr...