Jeremy Hunt to defend autumn statement amid warning of record fall in living standards
Jeremy Hunt will continue to defend his autumn statement today as experts warn of a record fall in living standards across the country.
The chancellor presented his economic plan to parliament on Thursday, littered with stealth taxes and curbs on government spending amounting to £55bn in an attempt to plug the black hole in public finances.
But the independent Office for Budget Responsibility warned the disposable incomes of UK households would fall by 7.1% over the next two years – the lowest level since records began in 1956/7, and taking incomes down to 2013 levels.
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As a result of the Mr Hunt’s announcements, the tax burden in the UK will also now be at its highest since the Second World War, and there are stark warnings about increased bills and higher unemployment as the recession takes hold – as well as predictions the economy will still shrink 1.4% in 2023.
But most of the difficult decisions on spending have been postponed until after the next general, due in 2024.
Both the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies will lay out their own analysis of the plans later this morning, but Treasury analysis already suggests around 55% of households will be worse off as a result of the measures.
Meanwhile, Labour has blamed “12 weeks of Conservative chaos” and “12 years of Conservative economic failure” for the bleak outlook.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves accused the government of forcing the UK economy into a “doom loop where low growth leads to higher taxes, lower investments and squeezed wages, with the running down of public services”.
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During his statement, Mr Hunt distanced himself from the philosophy of Liz Truss’s short-lived government – which promised billions of unfunded tax cuts and sent the markets into turmoil.
Yet, while the chancellor froze tax thresholds, lowered the point the higher rate of income tax kicks in and extended the windfall tax on energy firms (the latter, a Labour policy) amid other measures, he also promised more spending on the NHS, social care and education, as well as re-committing to uprating pensions and benefits in line with inflation.
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Hunt questioned over autumn statement
Mr Hunt also pledged to continue support for energy bills from April next year – though raising the cap to £3,000 for the average household.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, he said the government was “helping every bit as much as we can” to reduce the impact of the recession on households and businesses, as well as protecting public services.
But he pointed to those spending decisions, adding: “As soon as the recession is behind us, then, yes, we will consolidate to make sure that we’re balancing our books – and I think that’s what people would want.”
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’12 weeks of Conservative chaos’ – Rachel Reeves
While many in his party were supportive of the “difficult decisions”, the chancellor made in light of the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and the fallout from the pandemic – as well as Ms Truss’s tenure in office – other Tories warned against hiking taxes while the country is in a recession.
Former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told Sky News: “My worry is they’ve estimated that they will get certain revenues from their tax rises [but] those tax rises could end up damaging the economy and they won’t get the revenues thereafter, which means they’ll be back again looking for more.
“[There] is every chance that tax increases don’t yield what you think they will, so this could lead to a deeper recession. We need to watch that very carefully and see where it goes.”
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And former Wales Secretary David Jones told the Telegraph that the if high taxes continue, “the prospects of Tories winning the next election… are going to become more remote”.
Opposition parties were also quick to condemn the plan, with Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney saying it will “cause untold pain for everyone”, and the SNP’s Kirsty Blackman saying it “ushered in a new era of damaging austerity cuts”.
MPs will debate the measures in the Commons on Monday and Tuesday next week.
Three people have been charged with showing support for Palestine Action after the group was banned as a terror organisation.
Two women and a man were arrested in Westminster following a protest in central London on 5 July, the Metropolitan Police said.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in London, were charged with displaying an article in a public place, arousing reasonable suspicion they are a supporter of a proscribed organisation, under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The trio are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
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What’s happening to Palestine Action?
The charges come ahead of a planned protest in support of the group on Saturday afternoon in Parliament Square in London, which organisers expect more than 500 people will attend.
Defend Our Juries, which is organising the demonstration, said protests will continue until a High Court challenge over Palestine Action’s ban in November.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Anyone who displays public support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, is committing an offence under the Terrorism Act and can expect to be arrested and, as these charges show, will be investigated to the full extent of the law.
“These charges relate to three people arrested in central London on 5 July.
“We are also planning to send case files to the Crown Prosecution Service for the other 26 people arrested on the same day.
“I would strongly advise anyone planning to come to London this weekend to show support for Palestine Action to think about the potential criminal consequences of their actions.”
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The latest charges bring the total number of people charged with offences under the Terrorism Act related to Palestine Action to 10 across England, Wales and Scotland, Counter Terrorism Policing said.
Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Prevent and Pursue at Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “Our role is to enforce the law where we suspect offences to have been committed and we will continue to do so, without fear or favour.
“At this time, it remains illegal to be a member of or encourage support for the group Palestine Action. This legislation is specific to that group and does not interfere with the right to protest in support of the Palestinian cause.
“Operational plans are in place to ensure this right can be preserved over the coming days with protests expected in several major cities, including London.
“As well as robust plans to respond to activity in support of this proscribed group, resources are also in place to investigate offences that may be identified or reported following such events.”
More than 220 people have been arrested at protests across the UK in response to the proscription last month, as part of the campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries, including on suspicion of membership of, inviting support for and showing support for Palestine Action.
The ban on the group came after two Voyager aircraft suffered around £7m worth of damage at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 20 June.
Three days later, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action, calling the vandalism “disgraceful” and saying the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
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Oasis provided the most “ground-shaking” performance at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium when they last performed there in 2009, according to analysis of seismic data.
The Gallagher brothers’ last Scottish gig has topped the chart for the most powerful seismic concert at the venue in the past 20 years, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
Oasis’ June 2009 gig beat the Red Hot Chili Peppers in June 2004, Kings of Leon in June 2011 and Taylor Swift in June 2024 – when measuring the peak earthshaking power of each event.
Noel Gallagher. Pic: PA
The measurements were taken from a seismic monitoring station, some 4km from the venue.
At peak power of 215.06kW, the Oasis gig was more than twice as powerful as the next strongest one by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at 106.87kW.
Murrayfield Stadium’s most seismic concerts:
• Oasis: 17 June 2009, 215.06kW
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: 14 June 2004, 106.87kW
• Kings of Leon: 26 June 2011, 96.18kW
• Taylor Swift: 8 June 2024, 82.56kW
• Foo Fighters: 8 September 2015, 78.65kW
• Harry Styles: 26 May 2023, 65.38kW
• Beyonce: 20 May 2023, 29.31kW
• Robbie Williams: 31 May 2025, 14.18kW
• Bon Jovi: 22 June 2011, 13.20kW
• Spice Girls: 8 June 2019, 10.63kW
• One Direction: 3 June 2014, 6.82kW
The rankings were revealed ahead of Oasis’ return to the Scottish capital this weekend as part of their comeback tour.
The power output is not related to the volume of the band or the crowd; rather, it is the movement of fans jumping and dancing in time to the music, with the height of the jumping and weight of the crowd also potential factors.
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BGS seismologist Callum Harrison said: “In 2009, seismic signals generated by Oasis fans were consistent with a crowd energy of 215kW at its peak – enough to power around 30 of the scooters featured on the iconic Be Here Now album cover.
“Our network of sensors around the country is sensitive enough to pick up ground movement from a source miles away that may not be detectable to humans – and precise enough to register exact timestamps for when the events occur.
“The peak energy reading was recorded around 8.30pm on that June evening back in 2009, which correlates to the time the band first took the stage and performed Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, which couldn’t be more fitting in terms of topping our seismic music chart.”
The BGS keeps an archive of continuous ground motion recordings from seismic sensors around the country, dating back several decades.
Mr Harrison said: “Improving our understanding of historical earthquakes is an important part of BGS research in trying to understand and mitigate the seismic risk around the country.”
Oasis will take to Murrayfield’s stage on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday, so there is potential for another “shakermaker”.
Mr Harrison said it is “certainly possible” the band could top their 2009 gig, adding: “We’ll just have to wait and see.
“The main contributing factors are going to be how energetic the crowd is. If they’re jumping along with the music, how high or how fast are they jumping?”
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