Richard Tice has slammed the Autumn Statement saying it “is an utter outrage.”
Speaking to Esther McVey and Philip Davis on GB News today, the leader of Reform UK said: “Yesterday’s budget was a deeply damaging budget of austerity that was completely and utterly unnecessary.
“He (Jeremy Hunt) has decided to tax the people, the workers, but he’s done nothing to cut unnecessary wasteful spending.
“There was no talk about saving waste in the Government.”
Mr Tice’s comments come after Mr Hunt defended his economic package as “balanced”, after a think tank said it piled more pressure on “squeezed” middle earners.
The government’s independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said the tax burden would rise to its highest level since the end of World War Two as a result of the plans set out in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Thursday.
(Hunt said) “We want to take these difficult decisions in a fair way,” he said, adding that the most vulnerable people and public services would be protected.
The Resolution Foundation said increasing benefits in line with inflation would make a “huge difference” to those on low-to-middle incomes.
However, it said making energy support less generous from April would mean households were “far more exposed” to rising bills.
For a typical household, annual energy bills will rise to around £3,000, up from the current level of £2,500.The Resolution Foundation said the focus on “stealth taxes” – freezing tax thresholds to raise revenue – meant those on middle incomes were being squeezed as well as higher earners.
The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies said, “Middle England” was “set for a shock”.
The above summary was derived from the story linked below
