Autumn statement 2022 – live: Jeremy Hunt insists tax hikes and spending cuts needed to weather economic ‘storm’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to lay out a package of sweeping spending cuts and tax hikes in a plan he promises will shore up Britain’s defences against an economic “storm”.

During a round of media interviews on Sunday morning, Rishi Sunak’s chancellor warned that everybody in the UK will end up “paying a bit more tax” as a result of what he will unveil on Thursday.

Joe Sommerlad has the details on what we can expect from the autumn Budget:

Britain’s economy is facing a “lethal combination of recession and runaway inflation” without intervention in tomorrow’s budget, a leading business group has warned.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called on Jeremy Hunt to take targeted measures to ease inflation and boost growth in his autumn statement on Thursday.

It comes as the chancellor warned that soaring inflation was “thwarting any chance” of economic growth in the long run, as he hinted of tough tax hikes to come.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more:

Rishi Sunak has promised that he will within the coming year become the first prime minister since 2016 to publish his tax returns in full.

Mr Sunak initially made the pledge during his unsuccessful Conservative leadership campaign against Liz Truss in the summer.

But he has not yet made the figures public, sparking a warning from Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain that failure to make good on the promise would risk doing even more damage to public trust in the Conservative Party.”

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

UK house prices are widely predicted to take a tumble in the face of spiralling mortgage rates and rising rental prices, but new research shows the fall is likely to be sharper in some areas more than others.

With a deep, long recession on the horizon, the impact of stalled demand for sky-high mortgage approvals, following the disastrous Liz Truss-Kwasi Kwarteng mini-Budget in September, is beginning to put pressure on buyer demand in the property market.

New figures from house seller advice service PropCast shows demand has fallen sharply in 10 UK counties, which could pave the way for a more dramatic slump in house prices in these regions.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will promise a plan to weather an economic “storm” as he risks a backlash by unveiling a £54 billion package of tax hikes and spending cuts.

He will insist to MPs on Thursday that his autumn statement puts the UK on a “balanced path to stability” as he tackles the “enemy” of inflation, which has soared to a 41-year high.

Mr Hunt will say his “difficult decisions” are necessary to keep mortgage rates low and tackle the rocketing energy and food prices intensifying the cost-of-living crisis.

Dr Swati Dhingra also said British workers had taken a 2 per cent real terms cut in their wages due to the UK’s departure from the EU, as members of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) appeared before parliament’s Treasury Committee.

Living standards are under immense pressure around the globe this year due to record inflation, particularly in food and energy prices, but Dr Dhingra said Britain would suffer more as a direct result of having left the EU.

Among the MPs calling for the “critical” intervention to be included in the long-awaited fiscal statement, is former home secretary Priti Patel, 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady and former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis.

Led by former education minister Jonathan Gullis, the letter opens: “My fellow MPs and I want to see fuel duty cut to stimulate growth, but at least frozen at the current level for the lifetime of this parliament.”