Jeremy Hunt Archives - Page 3 of 15

Inflation falls by more than expected to 2-year low of 3.9 per cent

UK inflation eased back to its lowest level for more than two years last month, official figures show. Inflation stood at 3.9 per cent last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is a dramatic fall from the 4.6 per cent recorded a month earlier. Most economists had been expecting inflation to fall to […]

Hunt’s post-Brexit regulatory reforms are ‘unconvincing’ and a ‘damp squib’, say MPs

The chancellor’s raft of financial services reforms are “unconvincing”, a cross-party group of MPs has said. The Treasury select committee, chaired by Conservative MP Harriett Baldwin, has said that none of Jeremy Hunt’s so-called Edinburgh reforms implemented so far “will make a substantial difference to the UK economy”. It comes after the chancellor unveiled plans […]

Hunt: ‘Silly’ to think of tax cuts in terms of election timing as he hints at more to come

Jeremy Hunt has this morning said it is “silly” to think about the autumn statement tax cuts as a pre-election giveaway. The chancellor, who delivered his autumn statement to the House of Commons yesterday, told Sky News: “We haven’t chosen the most populist tax cuts. I think it’s silly to think about this in terms […]

Kwasi Kwarteng says autumn statement measures ‘reminded me of Gordon Brown’

Kwarteng admits new energy strategy could take half a decade to reduce bills

Reacting to the autumn statement delivered by the chancellor yesterday, Kwasi Kwarteng suggested that Jeremy Hunt’s “tinkering” with “micro measures” reminded him of Gordon Brown. In an article for the Telegraph, Kwarteng broadly welcomed the autumn statement, calling it “a tentative step in the right direction”. However, he added that “the Prime Minister’s critics may […]

Hunt’s tricky autumn statement puts the Conservative Party on an election footing

What is an autumn statement? Ostensibly, it is an opportunity to assess the latest independent forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), and for the chancellor of the day to announce changes to his tax and spending plans. But is also a day of political theatre, bookended by weeks of speculation and months […]

Jeremy Hunt says autumn statement shows country has ‘turned a corner’ — as it happened

Jeremy Hunt has today announced a series of measures to boost Britain’s economy in his second autumn statement. He claimed the economy is “back on track” in the statement, and that the country has “turned a corner”. He vowed to “reject big government, high spending and high tax because we know that leads to less […]

Citizens told they have ‘duty’ to work as government mulls benefits system changes

Minister suggests people should get ‘better paid jobs’ to handle rising costs

Tomorrow’s autumn statement is set to include measures to get hundreds of thousands of people with mobility and mental health problems into work as part of a bid to reduce benefits expenditure. Under plans to be announced in the autumn statement, to be revealed on Wednesday, these individuals face having their benefits reduced by £4,680 […]

Jeremy Hunt won’t ‘sacrifice the principles of sound money’ for tax cuts in Autumn statement

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will not “sacrifice the principles of sound money” amid calls for tax cuts, when he delivers the Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Treasury minister Gareth Davies said this morning that while “ideally” the government would bring the tax burden down overall, it will not do so “at the expense of sound money”. The […]

UK GDP flatlines as chancellor pledges to get economy ‘growing healthily again’

The UK economy flatlined in the third quarter of 2023, according to new numbers published by the Office for National Statistics this morning. The ONS said there had been no growth in the three months from July to September. It does mean the UK will avoid a recession this year, which is defined as two […]