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After much fuss, Britain is today dragging itself to the line of general elections.
No party has proved particularly inspiring. Campaigns have often focused on what parties won’t do, rather than what they will do, and there is a strong sense that what comes next depends as much on what politicians are unwilling to say as on what they do say.
It was painful to watch, but we made it through and the next stage of life in Britain awaits us.
It’s a bit like watching last Sunday’s torturous England game, but without the stroke of genius and visceral thrill of Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick.
The candidates: They want your vote, but what do they promise for your finances?
This is Money has long taken a politically neutral stance. Our job is to tell you what’s happening in the world and explain what it means for your finances.
Obviously you can’t ignore politics when doing that, but we believe it’s also our job to hold politicians and governments to account, whatever their tone.
It’s also important to consider ideas from across the spectrum – good ones can often come from unexpected sources.
Never is it more vital than when elections are approaching.
This is our chance to have our say on how we want the economy and our finances to shape up over the next five years.
So before you vote today, if you haven’t ticked your box yet, read our analysis of the manifestos and listen again to our special podcast on the manifestos.
> What the Labour manifesto means for your finances
> What the Conservative manifesto means for your finances
> What the Lib Dem manifesto means for their finances
> This is Money Podcast: Special on the electoral manifesto
The This is Money team looked at what the major parties are promising for our finances – and what they chose not to mention.
We also looked at the Green and Reform manifestos to see if they had any decent ideas.
And as Election Day approaches, we asked investment experts what the election outcome could mean for investors.
My overall opinion of the election campaign is that it has been disappointing.
Neither the Conservatives nor Labour – the two parties with a genuine chance of power – have been completely honest with us or offered a creative vision of how we can make Britain prosperous again.
Even when one side has suggested doing something, there are few details.
Labour’s planning shake-up and desire to get building contains little depth on how to prevent this being simply a card for big housebuilders to enrich themselves like bandits, while selling low-quality new homes at high prices and building in the countryside.
Expensive promises have been made, including promises to cut taxes we cannot afford to cut (the Conservatives with Northern Ireland) or statements that they will not raise certain tax rates (as Labour has done), even as they pretend to take more taxes from us on the sly.
Meanwhile, no party has promised to fix the self-defeating mess that is our tax system, and there are fears that some kind of tax raid on wealth – in the form of capital gains, pensions, inheritances or something else – is on the way to plug the loophole.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been very strong on tax and spending, calling it a “conspiracy of silence”, saying we either need to raise taxes or cut public spending during the next parliament and saying the manifestos don’t add up.
But there is another way forward: growing the economy in a much better way.
This brings me to my biggest electoral disappointment: a lack of inspiration and the message that government can lay the foundations for growth, but it is up to individuals and businesses to harness it and achieve it.
Whatever the outcome of the election (and barring a real upset, I think we can all guess), This is Money will be here to help you understand what it means for your finances.
Tomorrow, over the weekend and in the weeks and months ahead, we’ll explain what you need to do and how to protect and grow your wealth.