It was an announcement that we’ve come to expect from the Chancellor.

Since taking up the job six years ago, George Osborne has made a habit of being a bit of a beige straight man, rarely deviating from the script that austerity is what the crowd wants.

But every now and again this pantomime villain goes rogue, off piste and delivering the surprises with the help of a few white rabbits.

While his predecessor Gordon Brown bamboozled people with his machine gun-like financial algorithms, Boy George ‎sneaks in like a ninja, does his business and then disappears before most realise that something has happened.

Wednesday was no different.

All the talk beforehand was about cuts – police, sports, education, health; there were to be more cuts than a butcher's shop.

The only silver lining, we were told, was to be extra cash for house building and support for first-time buyers.

How wrong we were to be as, once again, the unassuming Boy George stealthily sneaked in a few surprises with the help of a fortuitous few billion found down the back of a sofa in Number 11 Downing Street.

So, much to his opponents’ disgust, the planned immediate withdrawal of tax credits was reversed while extra money was found for further education, the police and the health service.

The only thing shadow chancellor John McDonnell had left was to throw the (red) book at him.

But by far the most interesting announcement was George’s allowance for local authorities to increase council tax by an extra two per cent to pay for adult social care.

I say an extra two per cent, as for those who prefer to steer clear of the vagaries of local government finance, ever since the Chancellor took up the post there’s been a cap on council tax increases.

Any authority which wants to go beyond this had to hold a referendum in their local area, effectively a vote involving turkeys about Christmas.

Despite many, including Prime Minister David Cameron, moaning about reductions to local government, this year, the cap again is two per cent.

At least it was until Wednesday.

This recent announcement about an additional levy throws some councils a bit of a lifeline, as adult social care is where the biggest chunk of money goes every year.

Rather than moaning about cuts, cuts, cuts, they finally have a bit of wiggle room.

They now have a choice: tax more or cut more. It seems locally that the Labour minority administration has already made up its mind.

Speaking after budget papers were released ahead of a meeting this Thursday, council leader Warren Morgan said this week: “Everybody will look at the cuts and say this is wrong and you should be making the cuts elsewhere.

“Cuts are being made elsewhere but the budget for management costs and councillors is absolutely tiny in relation to social care cuts.”

In other words, we need all the help we can get. Those with short memories will recall how the same Coun Morgan said about this time last year that any more than a two per cent rise would hit the poorest the hardest.

But then it’s always a lot easier in opposition.

When you’re working directly alongside those whose budgets you have to cut, and relying on them to deliver a wish list as long as the kid from the John Lewis advert, it becomes harder to say no.

That’s why come February I expect the Labour minority council to go for an above-inflation four per cent hike.

The only problem is they probably won’t get it from the Conservatives locally.

And so it comes down to whether or not Labour can woo the Greens, many of who are still smarting from four years where they felt their colleagues from the Left stitched them over.

They could – and I’m not saying they will – but they could think that one in the eye for Labour might be a price worth paying for jumping into bed with the Tories.

What’s clear is the great council tax debate of 2016 starts now.

And, like the Chancellor, while it may seem beige, there will no doubt be a few surprises along the way.

The Argus:

So it’s official, say goodbye to the Brighton i360 and hello to the British Airways i360.

Well, at least that’s what the marketing team behind the city’s giant observational tower want us to think.

While the agreement is no doubt good news for the £46.2 million project, and the city as a whole, I’m sure to most , just like the County Ground and the Palace Pier, the corporate gloss will remain just that.