Outside the system

All the Bad News Jeremy Hunt Buried in His Autumn Statement

Details buried in the Chancellor’s statement show we are heading for years more of tax rises, low growth and public sector cuts thanks to his Government, reports Adam Bienkov

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Photo: Sipa US/Alamy

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Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday told the nation that he was “cutting taxes” and pushing the UK towards a brave new era of higher growth and prosperity.

However, official forecasts and figures released after his statement paint a very different picture.

Despite the Chancellor’s claims, these figures show that the British economy, public services and taxpayers’ pockets are set for a protracted period of pain for years more to come.

Here’s all the bad news the Chancellor didn’t want to tell us about today.

Low Growth for Years to Come

Rishi Sunak today claimed that his Government is “delivering” on growth thanks to the “difficult” decisions he has taken. However, the Government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility today confirmed that growth is actually expected to be lower than previously expected for most of the years in its forecast.

This means that the long-run of anaemic growth presided over by the Conservatives since 2010 is expected to continue even longer than previously thought.

Far from “turning the corner”, today’s forecast suggests that the British economy is set to remain at a dead end for some time to come.

Taxes Will Rise to a New High

“Conservatives cut your taxes”, Jeremy Hunt insisted today as he announced plans for cuts to National Insurance.

However, according to the Government’s own figures, the overall tax burden paid by taxpayers in the coming years is actually going to increase.

Thanks to the extension of so-called ‘fiscal drag’ caused by the Government’s decision to freeze tax thresholds, the overall tax burden will now rise to its highest level since the Second World War.

These rises mean that according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, taxes are set to rise by a larger amount in this parliament than in any other in post-war history.

“The overall effect of the tax changes we’ve seen is that for most people, this is still going to be a tax rise” the IFS Director Paul Johnson said.

Living Standards Will Continue to Fall

Despite Hunt’s promise of a new era of prosperity under this Government, new OBR figures show that since 2019 the UK has experienced the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 1950s.

And despite Sunak’s claim to be “delivering” on reducing rising living costs, today’s forecast shows that inflation is now expected to remain “higher for longer” than previously forecast, and will not reach the Bank of England’s target of 2% until a year later than previously expected.

The truth is that most will continue to feel worse off for some years yet.