Chancellor to deliver “plan for stability, growth and public services”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will today (17/11/22) deliver a “plan for stability, growth and public services” in the government’s Autumn Statement, while reiterating his commitment to fairness as difficult decisions are made to help balance the books, ensuring support for the most vulnerable and seeing that those with the broadest shoulders bear the heaviest load.

Balancing the books is key to economic stability; it shows the UK is a country which pays its way, and helps tackle inflation, which eats into people’s incomes. To support the Bank of England’s mission to drive down inflation the government needs to play its part by taking responsible decisions with the public finances, limiting the need for further rises in interest rates. However, the Chancellor will warn that stability “depends on taking difficult decisions now.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to say:

“As countries all over the world grapple with inflation, our plan reflects British values: we are both honest about the challenges, and fair in our solutions.

“We are taking difficult decisions to deliver strong public finances and help keep mortgage rates low, but our plan also protects our long-term economic growth.

“At the same time, we protect the vulnerable, because to be British is to be compassionate.

“There is a global energy crisis, a global inflation crisis and a global economic crisis.

“But the British people are tough, inventive, and resourceful. We have risen to bigger challenges before.

“We aren’t immune to these global headwinds, but with this plan for stability, growth and public services – we will face into the storm”.

In the last three years, the global economy has faced two enormous shocks – the pandemic has crippled supply chains, slowed growth and increased debt levels, and Putin’s war in Ukraine has caused energy prices to spike at a rate not seen since the 1973 oil crisis which drove the global economy into a recession

This is all feeding into rising inflation, which is making people poorer by increasing prices on everyday items such as food and fuel, as well as diminishing savings. Through the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor will outline the government’s plan to tackle inflation, the driving force behind slowing economic growth.

He is expected to say:

“High inflation is the enemy of stability. It means higher mortgage rates, more expensive food and fuel bills, businesses failing and unemployment rising. It erodes savings, causes industrial unrest, and cuts funding for public services. It hurts the poorest the most and eats away at the trust upon which a strong society is built.

“The Bank of England has my wholehearted support in its mission to defeat inflation… but we need fiscal and monetary policy to work together. Families across Britain make sacrifices every day to live within their means, and so too must governments because the United Kingdom will always pay its way.

“We are taking a balanced path to stability: tackling the inflation that eats away at a pensioner’s savings and increases the cost of mortgages to families, at the same time supporting the economy to recover. But it depends on taking difficult decisions now.”

Sector Response

Kieron Boyle, CEO of Impact on Urban Health commented:

“If compassion, and strengthening the nation’s finances, are to be at the heart of the Government’s approach, the Autumn Statement needed to go much further. Despite increases to income and access to free financial advice, families in the communities we support tell us that it is simply not enough to tackle the negative impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their health. We need to see a greater focus on interventions that will help to create a healthier society, which in turn will help to boost the economy. 

We know, for example, that expanding Free School Meal eligibility will both support families most in need and grow the economy by billions of pounds. This is a cost-effective policy change that tackles the cost-of-living head on.”