Optimism abounds in OBR forecasts, but just how feasible are they? November 28, 2022 When former Tory chancellor George Osborne created the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in 2010, he was unlikely to have envisioned it would become the source of financial market turmoil. But, that upheaval was not the budget watchdog’s fault. Instead, it was former prime minister Liz Truss and ex-Number 11 incumbent Kwasi Kwarteng’s disdain toward [...]
Taxman grabs 30 per cent more from Brits over last five years November 23, 2022 The amount of money the taxman takes away from Brits has climbed 30 per cent over the last five years, City A.M. analysis of official figures shows. In the year to 31 October this year, HMRC collected £757bn in taxes, up from £584bn in 2015/16, stats out this week reveal. The rise in tax revenues [...]
UK borrowing surges to £13.5bn on energy price cap support November 22, 2022 UK borrowing surged over the last year due to the government partially covering the cost of household energy bills, official figures out today reveal. The UK’s debt pile swelled £13.5bn last month, up more than £4bn compared to October 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although high, the figure was far below [...]
UK slumps to bottom of G7 economy league next year, OECD predicts November 22, 2022 The UK economy will languish behind its rich counterparts next year amid a tough inflation surge driven by worker shortages and an “untargeted” energy support package, a new report reveals. Britain’s economy will shrink 0.4 per cent next year, the worst performance of any country in the G7, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation [...]
UK ‘can’t afford’ another decade of lost growth, CBI warn November 21, 2022 The UK “can’t afford a repeat” of its severe economic underperformance since the 2008 financial crisis, the chief of the country’s top business group will warn chancellor Jeremy Hunt today. Responding to last week’s autumn statement, Tony Danker, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will slam the chancellor for failing to roll [...]
Hunt on course to miss fiscal targets despite £55bn of tightening, Deutsche Bank bet November 20, 2022 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is on course to miss his fiscal goals due to a weaker growth outlook than forecast by the UK’s budget watchdog, an investment bank has said. According to Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) GDP growth forecasts are too optimistic. Last week, the OBR said [...]
The Tory knives are out as Jacob Rees-Mogg calls Hunt’s Budget cuts ‘undeliverable’ November 18, 2022 The Chancellor’s spending cuts may prove “undeliverable” as Jeremy Hunt faces criticism from a range of senior Tories for raising taxes as he seeks to rebuild the UK’s battered public finances. Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg accused the Chancellor of taking the “easy option” in Thursday’s autumn statement rather than bearing down harder on public [...]
As it happened and live reaction: Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Budget 2022: UK is now in recession November 17, 2022 Welcome to City A.M.’s live updates as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivers the government’s Autumn Budget for 2022. Here the news team will bring you all the key points, policy changes, opinion, analysis, responses from experts, industry reaction and more. Get in touch and let us know your views via news@cityam.com or [...]
UK’s £50bn black hole: Brits face a long, cold winter full of spending cuts and fresh tax hikes November 1, 2022 After barely a week in office, Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister, and his equally new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are expected to move ahead with tax rises for millions of Brits. As early as next week, Sunak and Hunt will most likely extend a freeze on the thresholds at which people start to pay the [...]
Hunt and Sunak face £89bn fiscal hole without tax rises or spending cuts November 1, 2022 Without spending cuts or tax rises, prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt will burn a £89bn hole in the public finances in a few years time, a new report out today reveals. A combination of former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cuts in the shambolic 23 September mini-budget still lingering and a flatlining [...]