Autumn statement: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to claim economy is ‘back on track’

Published

2 years ago

November 21, 2023

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Jeremy Hunt will claim the economy is “back on track” in an autumn statement that is expected to prioritise tax cuts and economic growth.

The chancellor is expected to say the government’s plan for the economy is “working” but “the work is not done” as he unveils measures to boost business investment by £20bn a year, cut tax and get more people into work.

Mr Hunt will also set out decisions to grow the economy, reduce debt and return inflation to the Bank of England target of 2% – building further on Mr Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.

Politics news – latest: Tories ‘running out of time’ – so expect tax cuts

After keeping coy about the prospect of tax cuts, they now appear to be firmly on the table as Mr Hunt vows to “reject big government, high spending and high tax because we know that leads to less growth, not more”.

But Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the Tories were the party of “high tax”, adding: “Nothing the chancellor says or does in his autumn statement can change their appalling record.”

The hint of tax cuts comes after a Sky News poll of polls put the Tories 20 points behind Labour,

This is a worse margin than where Rishi Sunak was at the start of the autumn, when the Conservatives were an average of 18 points behind.

National insurance expected to be cut and national living wage increased

Among the key measures expected to be announced is a possible cut to national insurance contributions.

The government is also hoping to incentivise work by shaking up the welfare system and increasing the national living wage, which will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 from April and will benefit workers aged 21 and over, rather than 23 and over.

It will mean an £1,800 annual pay rise next year for a full-time worker on the living wage, while 18 to 20-year-olds will receive a £1.11 hourly rise to £8.60.

Mr Hunt is expected to say in his statement: “After a global pandemic and energy crisis, we have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track.

“We have supported families with rising bills, cut borrowing and halved inflation.

“The economy has grown. Real incomes have risen.

“Our plan for the British economy is working. But the work is not done.

“Conservatives know that a dynamic economy depends less on the decisions and diktats of ministers than on the energy and enterprise of the British people.”

In total the chancellor is expected to announce 110 different growth measures for businesses, including plans to cut tax, remove planning red tape and speed up access to the national grid.

Meanwhile, there will also be support for entrepreneurs to raise capital policies to unlock foreign direct investment and to boost productivity.

“Taken together we will increase business investment in the UK economy by around £20bn a year over the next decade and get Britain growing,” Mr Hunt will say.

The chancellor is expected to take advantage of headroom in the public finances – created as a result of higher wages and the freeze in income tax thresholds – to reduce taxes while also sticking to his fiscal rules.

They dictate that the government should have debt falling in the fifth year of the economic forecast and that borrowing should be less than 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

In an interview with Sky News, former home secretary Dame Priti Patel expressed her desire to see tax cuts.

“This government has got the highest tax take in 70 years,” she said.

“I am an absolute advocate of making sure that hard-pressed taxpayers can keep more of their money. And you know, that is through tax cuts.

“And there are ways in which that can be achieved through targeted tax cuts, such as addressing the conundrum of fiscal drag where so many more people get dragged into the higher tax.”

Mr Hunt will also pledge to “reform welfare” in the autumn statement after already confirming a £2.5bn Back to Work plan, which aims to bring 1.1 million people back in the workforce.

Measures in the plan including removing benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid from job seekers who are judged not to be looking for work.

Ms Reeves said: “After 13 years of economic failure under the Conservatives, working people are worse off.

“Prices are still rising in the shops, energy bills are up and mortgage payments are higher after the Conservatives crashed the economy.

“The 25 Tory tax rises since 2019 are the clearest sign of economic failure, with households paying £4,000 more in tax each year than they did in 2010.

“The Conservatives have become the party of high tax because they are the party of low growth. Nothing the chancellor says or does in his autumn statement can change their appalling record.”

Politics

A peace deal isn’t a sure thing, Zelenskyy’s UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Published

2 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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A peace deal isn't a sure thing, Zelenskyy's UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Downing Street once again, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to make this meeting more than just a photo op.

On Monday the prime minister will welcome not only the Ukrainian president, but also E3 allies France and Germany to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in showing solidarity and support for Ukraine and its leader, but it’s the update on the peace negotiations that will be the main focus of the meet up.

The four leaders are said to be set to not only discuss those talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also to talk about next steps if a deal were to be reached and what that might look like.

Ahead of the discussions, Sir Keir spoke with the Dutch leader Dick Schoof where both leaders agreed Ukraine’s defence still needs international support, and that Ukraine’s security is vital to European security.

But while Russia’s war machine shows no signs of abating, a warm welcome and kind words won’t be enough to satisfy the embattled Ukrainian president at a time when Russian drone and missile attacks continue to bombard Kyiv.

What is the latest in negotiations?

Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with US President Donald Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.

“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”

But on Sunday evening, ahead of an event at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Zelenskyy, as was asked about the next steps in Russia-Ukraine talks following negotiations.

He said: “We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy.

“And I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago.

“His people love it. But he hasn’t – Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s you know, Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it but he hasn’t read it.”

On Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, had told the Reagan National Defence Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in “the last 10 metres”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised new US security strategy over the weekend, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement”.

Politics

Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Published

3 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is returning to India after a two-year absence from the market.

Coinbase has resumed app registrations in India as it prepares to roll out local fiat on-ramps in 2026, Coinbase APAC director John O’Loghlen announced at India Blockchain Week (IBW), according to a Sunday report by TechCrunch.

Coinbase’s return to India comes more than two years after it ceased local services in September 2023, following a troubled debut of its local exchange launched in 2022.

“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats, have a clean slate here,” O’Loghlen said.

Crypto-to-crypto trades available immediately

As Coinbase resumes customer onboarding in India, users can immediately execute crypto-to-crypto trades, according to the report by TechCrunch.

The exchange initially began onboarding users through an early-access program in October, around the time it hired Karan Malik as its India marketing lead.

Coinbase, India, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Policy — *Source: Coinbase India marketing lead Karan Malik*

Malik had previously overseen marketing for last year’s IBW event, where Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this year.

“Last year, I was leading the charge and building the marketing and brand playbook for IBW. This year, I’m bringing Coinbase to the party,” the exec said.

Coinbase ramps up push in India

Coinbase has been actively working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian government. In early December, Coinbase’s international policy adviser Katie Mitch represented the exchange before India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

“We are optimistic on the potential for forward-looking VDA regulation in India,” she said in an X post last Thursday.

In another development last week, Priyank Kharge, IT minister for Karnataka, signed a memorandum of understanding with Coinbase India to deepen the state’s leadership in blockchain innovation and cybersecurity.

*Source: Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge*

Through the collaboration, the Karnataka government will collaborate with the exchange on startup incubation on Coinbase-backed Base protocol and speed up real-world applications of blockchain technology, the minister said.

As previously mentioned, Coinbase secured a license with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2025, positioning the exchange for a potential launch in the country. In August, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal also met with Karnataka’s IT minister Kharge to explore collaboration on developer tools, cybersecurity and blockchain in governance.

Cointelegraph approached Coinbase for comment regarding its relaunch in India, but had not received a response by the time of publication.