Summer 2005 Newsletter Content More of the same? Around the world Hot tips Inside out? Sweet sacrifice Simple trust Done and dusted? Open immediately File under E An Inspector calls CO still OK Open for business High PHI Arctic chills Duty calls Pensions Fuelling around WIP round Win some, lose some Take it and go? Party talk Work less, earn less Making adjustments

More of the same? So Labour won the election, and Mr Blair and Mr Brown are back in residence as neighbours in Downing Street. The post-election press was full of rumours that Mr Blair would have to hand over the reins in the near future, because he had not won the election convincingly enough. This may be a case of the media trying to make an interesting story out of the embers of a boring election, or there might be something to it. Many people are focused on what Gordon Brown would be like as a Prime Minister - but it's also hard now to imagine someone else taking over as Chancellor. No-one in living memory has held the office for so long. To find someone who held it longer, you have to go back to Gladstone, whose control of the Exchequer was split into four separate periods. For a longer unbroken spell in charge, it's Nicholas Vansittart, who was Chancellor from 1812 to 1823; then William Pitt - the Younger - 1783 to 1801 (as well as two other shorter periods and a while as Prime Minister). Whether you like him or not, Gordon Brown gives an air of stability to the public finances. Change can be unsettling. Who knows what could happen if he moves next door? The one thing you can be sure of is that we will be keeping a close eye on tax changes, whoever is responsible for them, and we will keep you informed.