Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said “we’re all going to be paying a bit more tax” following the autumn budget - and admitted there were mistakes in the so-called mini-budget.
He said it is “not just bad news”, stating he wants to set out a plan to “show the way through” the difficult circumstances facing the UK.
On who will be required to bear the brunt of the extra costs, he said the Government will be asking “everyone for sacrifices”, but said Britain is a “compassionate” country, insisting “there’s only so much you can ask from people on the very lowest incomes”.
Asked if he will therefore be paying more tax after next week, he told Sky News: “We’re all going to be paying a bit more tax, I’m afraid … but it’s not just going to be bad news.
“I think what people recognise is that if you want to give people confidence about the future, you have to be honest about the present. And you have to have a plan.
“This will be a plan to help bring down inflation, help control high energy prices and also get our way back to growing healthily, which is what we need so much.”
Mr Hunt was asked if the Kwasi Kwarteng mini-budget was to blame for the economic turbulence. He replied: “There were mistakes in the mini-budget. I corrected those in three days of becoming chancellor”.
He said there are going to be “very difficult decisions” when asked if Britain will see a return to austerity.
He told Sky News: “They are going to be very difficult decisions, but we are a resilient country and we’ve faced much bigger challenges, frankly, in our history.
“We know that to deal with problems you have to face into them, not run away from them.”
He said Britain is also a “compassionate country”, adding: “The plan that I outline to the House of Commons on Thursday will be one that gets us through these difficult times.”
