Sunak pours scorn on the OBR’s dire warnings – but the facts speak for themselves

Rishi Sunak has chosen to prioritise pre-election tax cuts rather than addressing the cost of living crisis. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AP

Rishi Sunak should be used to grim economic forecasts. In his two years as chancellor, he’s been warned to brace for the worst jobs crisis since the 1980s, a recession without parallel for three centuries, and the biggest shock to the public finances since the second world war.

Not everything came to pass. Extending furlough – rather than ending it early as the chancellor planned – prevented unemployment from hitting levels unseen since the days of his political idol Nigel Lawson.