1 year ago
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Rolling, live coverage as energy price support pushes 2022 deficit £50bn above pre-coronavirus levels
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has reaffirmed his position that the UK is facing “tough decisions” to reduce government borrowing.
The prospect of increased borrowing (via big but unspecified tax cuts) was one of the key factors in the rapid removal of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng as prime minister and chancellor in October after less than two months. Hunt was brought in to steady the ship – a task he has essentially argued requires a programme of deficit reduction to rival the early years of the Conservative government.
Faced with the twin global emergencies of a pandemic and Putin’s war in Ukraine, we have taken significant action to support millions of businesses and families here in the UK.
We have a clear plan to help halve inflation next year, but that requires some tough decisions to put our public finances back on a sustainable footing.
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