After nearly two decades of stagnant wages, lethargic economic growth and public service atrophy, Britain has been prescribed more of the same. After yesterday’s Autumn Statement, we are set to have the punitively high taxes of southern Europe, the leaden atmosphere of northern Europe, and the dire public services of the United States. All in the middle of a recession, a surge in inflation, the highest taxes in 70 years, and a cost-of-living crisis. Thank you very much, Chancellor. No wonder broadcasters are wont to mispronounce Jeremy Hunt.
‘You do not need to choose either a strong economy or good public services. With the Conservatives, and only with the Conservatives, you get both,’ Hunt told the Commons, with a straight face. As he well knows, public services are buckling under the strain of a decade of austerity. Meanwhile, the OBR expects our weak economic growth to facilitate the cratering of household disposable incomes by the largest amount since records began in the mid-Fifties, yanking them back to where they were nearly 10 years ago.
In another life, Hunt was the longest-serving Health Secretary in history, who hung on in post against Theresa May’s wishes until he received a £20 billion additional ‘birthday present’ spending commitment for the NHS. Now that Hunt is on the other side of the negotiating table…
To read this full article on how the Autumn Statement has thrown the supply side reform baby out with the unfunded tax cuts bathwater, please visit UnHerd using the link here: https://unherd.com/2022/11/jeremy-hunts-boomer-budget/