Good times will be back when Hunt kills off our No1 enemy: inflation

BRITAIN must do “whatever it takes” to stop inflation wrecking household budgets and killing growth, the Treasury has insisted.

- David Williamson and Jonathan Walker

As it stepped in to defend the spending cuts and tax increases unveiled by the Chancellor in last week’s Autumn Statement, a Treasury source branded inflation the “number one public enemy”.

And they warned that growth will not return and living standards will not improve until it is tackled.

“We have to do whatever it takes to bring down inflation,” the source said. “It is an insidious tax that is eating into pay packets, household budgets and savings...

“The message from the Chancellor is, ‘Please bear with us. It will get better but we need to stick to this plan to get inflation down’.”

Household incomes are predicted to be eroded by seven per cent and Thursday’s statement from Jeremy Hunt has come under fire from politicians on both the Left and the Right.

But the Government says it is making “massive” investment in the NHS and is committed to the biggest-ever increase in the state pension. And Health Secretary Steve Barclay promised improvements to the health service are on the way.

“This extra money – up to £8billion a year from 2024-25 – will ensure we can provide the vital services that patients and those in care need,” he said.

“We can crack on with improving A&E services, reducing the treatment backlog left by the pandemic, free up hospital beds by discharging people who should be cared for at home and increasing the availability of GP appointments.

“At a challenging time for the country, we are making the difficult decisions needed to strengthen our public services while restoring economic stability.”