On Wednesday, the Chancellor delivered her Spring Statement.
Richard Fuller MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commented:
It is time the Chancellor took ownership of the mistakes she made in the October budget which tanked business confidence, reduced investment, drove unemployment and depressed wage increases.
She can blame world events, the US administration and continue to peddle the myth about a £22 billion black hole, but ultimately, the reason the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has halved its growth forecasts for the country is down to the Labour Chancellor who has taxed and borrowed herself into a black hole entirely of her own making.
Sadly, it's not the Labour Treasury team but the country who will suffer the consequences of her failures.
You can watch some of Richard's television interviews on the Emergency Budget through his youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@richardfuller156/videos
Key points from the Chancellor's Statement:
- Growth cut in half. Forecast GDP growth for 2025 has collapsed from two per cent to just one per cent, with the OBR citing structural weakness in the economy - much of it driven by poor productivity and falling business confidence.
- Inflation rising again. CPI inflation is now expected to rise to 3.2 per cent this year - more than double the forecast level when the Conservatives left office in 2024 and above the Bank of England's target.
- Unemployment up, year after year. The OBR confirms unemployment will be higher this year, next year, and the year after, peaking at 4.5 per cent — 160,000 more out of work than previously forecast.
- Record tax burden. The tax take is forecast to hit a historic high of 37.7 per cent of GDP — a post-war record that will remain locked in for the rest of the forecast.
- Productivity downgrade. Labour has presided over a sharp deterioration in productivity. The level of output per hour is now 1.3 per cent lower than forecast just five months ago.
- Debt interest soars. Interest on government debt will increase by £30 billion with borrowing costs set to be higher by an average of £8 billion a year.
- No growth in living standards. Real GDP per person remains below pre-pandemic levels, with households facing stagnant wages, rising prices and higher taxes.
- Growth cut in half. Forecast GDP growth for 2025 has collapsed from two per cent to just one per cent, with the OBR citing structural weakness in the economy -
