Hunt on the offensive ahead of Thursday’s Autumn Statement

Ahead of the Autumn Statement on Thursday, Jeremy Hunt addressed the Commons today.

He confirmed he would not be drinking any Whisky during the Thursday statement, which was the drink of choice of former chancellor Kenneth Clarke when at the dispatch box.

Hunt was on the offensive as he compared the UK’s economic record to that of Germany, the Netherlands and the USA.

Hunt’s address comes on the same day that the ONS published its latest data on the UK economy. The statistics show that wage rises continue to be far outstripped by inflation.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonus payments, rose at an annual rate of 5.7% during the three months to September. This is well below the official rate of inflation at 10.1%.