The plan is working and we HAVE to stick to it

THERE can be no doubt that last year was not easy. We were dealing with the legacy of Covid, backlogs in our public services, the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the dangers of war in the Middle East.

And the outlook economically this time last year was also uncertain. Forecasters were projecting that we would have a year-long recession this year.

But because of the action this government has taken we’ve avoided that and we have outperformed countries like Germany.

Inflation – which has had a big impact on people’s day-to-day lives and financial security – was close to 11 per cent, the highest it has been for many years.

Now inflation has more than halved and is running below 4 per cent.

And this time last year, the notion that we’d be able to cut taxes to put more money in people’s bank accounts was fanciful. But because we responsibly managed the public finances and made the difficult, but right long-term decisions, the Chancellor has just announced £20billion of tax cuts that people will have started to see in their accounts this weekend just gone. For someone earning £35,000, that’s a tax cut worth £450.

I committed to halve inflation so we could cut taxes and we’ve done that. And if we continue to control spending and control welfare and carry on down this path making the right decisions for the long-term, there will be more to come.

We have made undeniable progress in the last year. The plan is working and we are pointing in the right direction. We are starting to deliver the long-term change that our country needs and that I want to deliver. The job now is to stick to that plan so that we can give everyone peace of mind that the future is going to be better for their children and to ensure we can have a renewed sense of pride in our beloved country.