Closing post
Time to wrap up.
Economist have warned that the UK’s pre-election budget, delivered yesterday, is based on ‘Fiscal fiction’, rather than plausible plans and assumptions.
Citigroup warned that the chancellor’s spending plans as “fiscally offside” by £50-60bn, as they are based on unlikely productivity growth, and implausible spending cuts.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies accused both the government and the opposition of a conspiracy of silence about what is actually ahead, with its director Paul Johnson saying:
They, and we, could be in for a rude awakening when those choices become unavoidable.
The IMF predicts that stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises.
While the Resolution Foundation showed that this will be the first parliament in modern history to see a fall in living standards.
Here are today’s stories on the aftermath of the budget:
Plus in other news, we’ve seen a jump in UK house prices, and takeover drama in the banking sector:
IMF: stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises
At the end of January, the International Monetary Fund warned Jeremy Hunt not to make tax cuts in the budget.
He wasn’t persuaded, though.
And today, the IMF has waned that stabilising the UK’s debt is likely to require additional tax rises.
Speaking at the IMF’s regular press briefing on Thursday, director of communications Julie Kozak told reporters:
“IMF staff will be analysing the announced policies in greater detail but the aim to continue the fiscal consolidation pursued since 2022 to reduce inflation and stabilise debt is welcome.”
She added that the national insurance cut and reform of the child benefit system had been funded by “well-conceived revenue-raising measures”.
Kozak said:
“Significant spending to protect service delivery, growth-enhancing investment and the appropriate commitment to stabilise debt are likely to require additional revenue-raising measures in the medium term.”
