Whistling in the dark: Hunt’s autumn statement

THE problem facing the UK economy is acute. It has been through a pandemic for which then chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak quite rightly adopted a loose fiscal policy. There was an expected V-shaped macroeconomic movement. But at the end of that recovery, political instability within the Conservative Party added to the fiscal woes.

Between July and October, two prime ministers were removed, one in the space of just six weeks. Four chancellors came and went till Jeremy Hunt had to be brought in as an emergency appointment, to calm the markets in the face of a mini-budget that caused maximum damage. Now Sunak, the third prime minster of the year, is in place and hoping to last until at least the forthcoming general election in 2024.

On Nov 17, Hunt unveiled his autumn statement as part of the Conservative Party’s bid to ensure this. He created an atmosphere of severity in warning the public (and even more his parliamentary colleagues) about the severity of the financial crisis. Things had been bad enough, but the panic caused by the Sep 23 mini-budget had made it worse.