Sunak: Budget will put us on sustainable path
RISHI Sunak has pledged to deliver on market expectations with this week’s autumn budget as his Chancellor warned everyone will need to pay “a bit more tax” to stabilise the economy.
The Prime Minister said Jeremy Hunt will unveil measures on Thursday to “put our public finances on a sustainable trajectory” after investors were spooked by his predecessor’s £45bn taxcutting bonanza.
The statement is expected to include painful public spending cuts and tax hikes to plug a black hole in the nation’s finances.
Mr Hunt earlier said “sacrifices” were required across the board to get the economy back on track.
But the planned tax rises have drawn criticism from some quarters of the Tory party, with former levelling up secretary Simon Clarke calling for the books to be balanced through spending cuts instead.
Ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, whose disastrous mini-budget was estimated by economists to have cost the country as much as £30bn, said growth would not stem from “putting up our taxes”.
Speaking to reporters on the plane to Indonesia for the G20 summit, Mr Sunak said financial conditions in the UK had “clearly” steadied.
“But they have stabilised because people expect the Government to take the decisions that will put our public finances on a sustainable trajectory, and it’s the Government’s job to deliver on that,” he said. “And that’s what the Chancellor will do.”
The Prime Minister said he was “cognisant” of the dire economic situation the country is facing, after gross domestic product - the measure of national income known as GDP – contracted by 0.2% between July and September, potentially marking the start of a recession.
He stressed the importance of “delivering on the expectations of international markets” to “make sure that our fiscal position is on a more sustainable trajectory”.
Asked whether the budget would spell years of pain for the public, Mr Sunak said the plan is to “lay the foundations” for growth so taxes can be cut “over time”.