Budget plans risk ‘second lost decade’ of living standards, Jeremy Hunt told

Exclusive: Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds widening gulf between demand for tax cuts and reality for millions struggling

Jeremy Hunt has been told Wednesday’s budget risks condemning Britain to a second “lost decade” for living standards that would leave working families £1,900 a year worse off.

The chancellor enters a crunch week under pressure from his party to deliver a package of pre-election tax cuts, but analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) finds a widening gulf between these political demands and the reality facing millions of struggling people.