？

       Close

       Autumn budget 2023: Key announcements from Jeremy Hunt's statement

       Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email

       Please enter a valid email address

       Please enter a valid email address

       SIGN UP

       I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

       Thanks for signing up to the

       View from Westminster email

       {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

       Jeremy Hunt cut national insurance for 27 million workers as he delivered an autumn statement that he claimed would bring tens of thousands more people into work.

       The Chancellor said the two-percentage-point reduction would save someone earning ￡35,000 more than ￡450.

       But millions of workers will face a squeeze on their finances with the tax burden still set to reach a record high, with the Treasury raking in ￡200bn as starting thresholds remain unchanged.

       With an election expected next year, the national insurance cut will be rushed through Parliament to boost Rishi Sunak’s chances.

       The Office for Budget Responsibility also significantly downgraded its growth forecasts, with the economy now expected to grow just 0.6 per cent this year and 0.7 per cent next.

       Mr Hunt raised the National Living Wage to ￡11.44 an hour, kept the pensions triple lock and vowed to increase in-work benefits by 6.7 per cent.

       Labour said growth had hit a dead end under the Conservatives.

       And campaigners accused the government of punishing people by framing disability as a lifestyle choice as he announced a crackdown on benefits for people with mobility or mental health struggles unless they work from home.

       Recommended What does the Autumn Budget mean for my money and the Tory party? Ask Sean O’Grady anything Why now is the time for Jeremy Hunt to rescue the high street What tax cuts can we expect, and will they make it harder for Labour? Budget: What’s in and out of Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement? Hunt promises 110 measures for growth as he seeks to boost Tory election hopes

       Key Points Jeremy Hunt announces 2% national insurance cut Economy to grow just 0.6% as OBR downgrades forecasts Chancellor vows crackdown on disability benefits Hunt freezes alcohol duty in autumn statement Budget ‘not good for growth’, top economists warn Inflation to stay higher for longer, OBR confirms Even Saatchi and Saatchi say Tories not working, say Labour House prices to fall 4.7% next year, say OBR

       Show latest update 1700678692 IFS: Tax cuts ‘not recipe for good public finances management’

       Jeremy Hunt’s tax cuts amid uncertain times are “not a recipe for good management of the public finances”, one of the UK’s top think tanks has warned.

       The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said “the prudent thing to do” would have been to use the financial headroom to “build a larger buffer into his plans”. Instead Mr Hunt relied on the government’s “poorly designed and loose fiscal target” to pay for tax cuts that will hamstring whoever is chancellor after the next election, it said.

       “That might make for good politics. It does not make for good policymaking,” IFS director Paul Johnson added.

       In a scathing verdict on Mr Hunt’s autumn statement, Mr Johnson said: “There’s a material risk that those plans prove undeliverable and today’s tax cuts will not prove to be sustainable.”

       And he noted that despite the significant cut to national insurance, “these tax cuts won’t be enough to prevent this from being the biggest tax-raising parliament in modern times”.

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 18:44

       1700678539 Hunt leaves ‘ticking time bomb of austerity' for next government

       Stephanie Flanders, head of economics at Bloomberg, said the predicted spending cuts in future years would leave a “ticking time bomb” for whoever is in charge in the next parliament.

       The Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) said Jeremy Hunt had spent “virtually all” of the ￡27bn-worth of “fiscal headroom” – mainly on the ￡21bn cost of tax cuts, plus some more on the cost of welfare reforms.

       It also warned that the windfall spent on tax cuts was “mainly a reflection of a ￡19.1bn erosion in the real value of departmental spending”.

       The OBR said “a 2.3 per cent-a-year real-terms fall in day-to-day spending” would “present challenges” – polite speak for painful spending cuts.

       Ian Mulheirn, an economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank, said it showed the “completely implausible implications” of the tax cuts.

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 18:42

       1700676638 Watch: Rachel Reeves quotes The Independent in clash with Hunt

       Rachel Reeves quotes The Independent during Budget clash with Hunt

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 18:10

       1700675438 Budget winners and losers

       Winners and losers from Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Budget 2023 Chancellor’s autumn statment sets out national insurance cut and pensions boost – but warns of benefits crackdown on the way

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 17:50

       1700674298 Money-saving expert Martin Lewis’s snap verdict

       Money-saving expert Martin Lewis said the cut to National Insurance goes some way to cover the cost of freezing tax thresholds but lamented the absence of Lifetime ISA reform:

       Martin Lewis reveals snap verdict on budget as chancellor reveals ‘rabbit from hat’ Money saving expert Martin Lewis provided ‘translations’ about what the government’s announcements really mean

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 17:31

       1700673476 Rishi Sunak’s ￡200bn stealth tax bombshell revealed

       While Jeremy Hunt boasted about giving out the biggest tax cut since the 1980s, the official spending watchdog revealed Rishi Sunak would take in ￡200bn in a stealth tax bombshell.

       The prime minister’s decision to freeze the threshold at which people pay national insurance and other taxes will cost ￡200bn in the next six years, the Office for Budget Responsibility said.

       In a budget which many said would give with one hand while taking with the other, the cost of “personal tax threshold measures” was laid bare.

       Freezing tax thresholds drags more people into paying tax, and means those that do are pulled into higher tax bands as their pay rises with inflation.

       This financial year the decision to freeze tax thresholds will cost ￡12.4bn, with that figure climbing to ￡44.6bn by 2028-29.

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 17:17

       1700672456 What autumn statement means for benefits

       From universal credit to pensions and a fresh crackdown on benefit claimants who do not find work within 18 months, here are the effects on state benefits:

       What does Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement mean for your benefits? Jeremy Hunt was loudly heckled in Parliament as he announced a fresh benefits crackdown for people who refuse to find work

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 17:00

       1700671549 IFS: Hunt tax cuts are ‘not a recipe for good management of the public finances’

       Jeremy Hunt’s tax cuts amid uncertain times are “not a recipe for good management of the public finances”, one of the UK’s top think tanks has warned, Archie Mitchell reports.

       The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said “the prudent thing to do” would have been to use the financial headroom to “build a larger buffer into his plans”. Instead Mr Hunt relied on the government’s “poorly designed and loose fiscal target” to pay for tax cuts which will hamstring whoever is chancellor after the next election, it said.

       “That might make for good politics. It does not make for good policymaking,” IFS director Paul Johnson added.

       In a scathing verdict on Mr Hunt’s autumn statement, Mr Johnson said: “There’s a material risk that those plans prove undeliverable and today’s tax cuts will not prove to be sustainable.”

       And he noted that despite the significant cut to national insurance, “these tax cuts won’t be enough to prevent this from being the biggest tax raising parliament in modern times”.

       Matt Mathers 22 November 2023 16:45

       1700670562 How Hunt - one of UK’s richest politicians - made his money

       Prior to his career in parliament, Mr Hunt attended Charterhouse School in Godalming and received a first-class degree in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford before working as an English teacher in Japan.

       In 1991, aged 25, he co-founded a business with a childhood friend:

       How did chancellor Jeremy Hunt make his money? Chancellor is one of UK’s richest politicians, having sold off a higher education listings business in multimillion pound deal

       Jane Dalton 22 November 2023 16:29

       1700669629 James Cleverly denies claims he called Stockton North a s***hole

       Home secretary James Cleverly has denied claims that he called a Labour MP’s constituency a “shithole”.

       Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, alleged the comment was made during Prime Minister’s Questions.

       Speaking in the Commons later, the Labour MP for Stockton North called out the Home Secretary and demanded an apology.

       Mr Cleverly’s spokesman said: “He did not say that, and would not. He’s disappointed people would accuse him of doing so.”

       Ben Hatton reports:

       James Cleverly denies claims he called Stockton North a s***hole Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham demanded apology in the Commons from home secretary

       Matt Mathers 22 November 2023 16:13

       Newer 1 / 8 Older

       More about Rishi Sunak Jeremy Hunt Autumn Statement Chancellor Government Budget Office for Budget Responsibility national insurance benefits National Living Wage

       Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

       Comments

       1/ 1Hunt delivers Budget with tax cuts and pension reforms - live

       Hunt delivers Budget with tax cuts and pension reforms - live

       PA

       ？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

       Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

       Subscribe

       Already subscribed? Log in