Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget on Wednesday, November 22 will put into place a major piece of the Conservative party’s strategy for the general election – the plan to turn the economy around and tackle the cost of living crisis. But with just over a year to go before an election must be called, will the measures be too little, too late?
The government certainly derived some satisfaction from last month’s fall in the UK rate of annual inflation to 4.6%, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak quickly taking credit for meeting his target to halve the rate in 2023. Nonetheless, economic prospects look grim.
The Bank of England is predicting growth of just 0.5% this year, zero next year and just 0.25% in 2025. To some extent, this is likely to be self-inflicted, with the bank saying it will keep interest rates high for at least another year to ensure inflation falls to its target of 2%.
