UK finance minister announces tax hikes and spending cuts, says country is in recession

LONDON — The U.K. government on Thursday unveiled a sweeping ?55 billion ($66 billion) fiscal plan as it seeks to plug a gaping hole in the public finances and restore Britain’s economic credibility, even as the country teeters on recession.

Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, in his hotly anticipated inaugural Autumn Statement, outlined around ?30 billion in spending cuts and ?25 billion in tax hikes.

The measures included a six-year freeze on income tax thresholds and a lowering of the top rate of income tax to ?125,000 — moves directly opposed to the major cuts touted in September’s catastrophic mini-budget.

“Unfunded tax cuts are as risky as unfunded spending,” Hunt told the House of Commons.

The measures will increase financial hardship on millions of Britons as they confront the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in decades and its longest-ever recession.

However, Hunt said they were necessary to limit 41-year-high inflation and recover the U.K.’s reputation; dubbing the plan the “ultimate growth strategy.”

“We must continue a relentless fight to bring (inflation) down, including a rock-solid commitment to rebuild our public finances,” Hunt said.

“We need fiscal and monetary policy to work together,” he continued. “That means the government and the Bank working in lockstep. It means in particular giving the world confidence in our ability to pay our debts.”

Among the other measures announced were a 10% increase in the state pension, benefits and tax credits — in line with September’s inflation figure — and an increase in the National Living Wage from the current level of ?9.50 an hour for those aged 23 and above.

The finance minister also confirmed that the energy industry will be hit with an expanded windfall tax of 35% up from 25%.

Thursday’s statement was accompanied by a long-awaited set of projections from the U.K.’s independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which painted a gloomy economic picture for Britain.

Hunt said the projections show that the U.K. is now in recession, but that the government’s plan ensureS the downturn is shallower and unemployment lower than initially forecast.

The U.K.’s new strategy sets the tone for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s premiership, as he presides over an era of fiscal austerity and dwindling Conservative Party support.

It also marks a defining moment for Hunt, who was installed last month to recover the U.K.’s credibility after predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s now-infamous mini-budget of unfunded tax cuts unleashed market chaos and emergency intervention.

Though Hunt’s then-boss Liz Truss resigned in short order — becoming the U.K.’s shortest-serving prime minister — he was kept on by successor Rishi Sunak in a bid to ensure stability following months of political turmoil.

The Bank of England warned earlier this month that the U.K. is facing its longest recession since records began a century ago.

Official data released Friday showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2022. A second consecutive quarter of negative growth going forward would indicate that the U.K. is in a technical recession.

The U.K. is now the only Group of Seven (G7) country yet to return to its pre-pandemic size, having suffered a decade of near-stagnant income growth.