On Thursday, the chancellor will deliver his autumn statement, which is expected to include tax increases and spending cuts. Despite this week’s vote by nurses to strike over salary, public services, including the NHS, are not anticipated to get additional funds.
Jeremy Hunt has stated that everyone will pay higher taxes, but those with the highest incomes will have to make greater concessions.
During Thursday’s autumn statement, the chancellor told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday program that he “will be asking everyone to make sacrifices,” but that there is “only so much we can ask of those with the lowest incomes.”
Mr. Hunt stated, “This will be reflected in the judgments I make, which is vital because Britain is a decent, fair, and caring society.
Everyone will be paying a bit more in taxes, I’m afraid.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, ministers are considering decreasing the threshold at which employees pay the highest 45p rate of income tax from £150,000 to £125,000.
This week, nurses throughout the United Kingdom decided to strike for the first time, possibly next month, to secure a 17% pay increase.
Mr. Hunt, who was health secretary when junior physicians went on strike for the first time in 2015, stated that he is “extremely mindful” of nurses’ concerns and knows that they are requesting an above-inflation wage rise due to the impact of inflation on their paychecks.
He then stated: “I believe we must accept the unpalatable fact that inflation would persist if we offered everyone inflation-proof pay raises. We would not reduce inflation.
“So, you know, I’m not going to pretend there aren’t some tough choices.
“The solution is to reduce inflation as rapidly as possible, as it is the core cause of your fear, anger, and irritation that your income is not going as far as it could.”
Mr. Hunt assured that the autumn statement will not include “just negative news,” but he believes the public recognizes that “if you want to instill confidence in the future, you must be honest about the present.”
He stated that his proposal is both short- and long-term and will reduce inflation, control high energy prices, and “return us to healthy growth.
The chancellor stated that his strategy will contribute to bringing the United Kingdom out of recession as swiftly and painlessly as possible, and he also offered assistance for energy costs not only this winter but also next.
However, he also indicated that government departments will be required to reduce spending and that the NHS will receive no additional funds.
He stated that funding for the health service is already increasing, but that the government must “do all possible” to identify efficiency inside the NHS.
When questioned if the NHS is on the verge of collapse, Mr. Hunt acknowledged that physicians and nurses “on the frontline are under excruciating pressure, so I recognize the situation.”
He emphasized that public services require a robust economy, but the converse is also true.
Moreover, he stated that the NHS can assist the United Kingdom in overcoming its current economic issues, such as by assisting the growing number of people who are unemployed due to long-term illness.
Simon Clarke, the former secretary for leveling up under Liz Truss, told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he would prefer to see public spending cutbacks in the fiscal statement rather than tax increases.
He stated, “I would strongly suggest that the great balance of this statement come from spending cuts because I truly believe that increasing the tax burden on Britain at this moment is problematic.”
Mr. Clarke noted that government spending had increased “significantly” over the past decade, indicating that there is an “opportunity” to make savings that “would not harm public services.”
Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, stated that the chancellor may still make “fair choices” in the autumn statement that do not burden the public by eliminating tax loopholes and backdating the windfall tax on the profits of energy corporations to January and extending it for two years.
She suggested the extension of the windfall tax might generate an additional £50 billion.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has “no mandate for the cuts and tax rises,” according to Ms. Reeves because he was not elected by the country but by Conservative MPs.
