Rishi Sunak is delivering his mini-budget – here are the main points, with political analysis
Rishi Sunak opens by highlighting the war in Ukraine and says Britain’s economic strength underpins freedom and liberty. The chancellor says he will respond to the conflict by building a stronger, more secure economy for the UK.
The chancellor says forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility show the economy will grow by 3.8% this year.
GDP will grow by 1.8% next year, 2.1% in 2024, 1.8% in 2025, and 1.7% in 2026.
In October, the OBR had forecast growth of 6% f0r 2022 as the UK economy recovers from the Covid pandemic.
The economy grew by 7.5% in 2021, after a fall of 9.4% in 2020 – the biggest decline for a century – during the first wave of the pandemic.
Sunak says borrowing in the current financial year, 2021-22, will be 5.4 of GDP and will fall to 3.9% next year.
In its previous forecasts in October, the OBR had estimated borrowing would be 7.9% of GDP, or £183bn in cash terms, in 2022-23.
The chancellor says debt service costs will rise to £83bn in the next fiscal year, the highest level on record.
“We should be prepared for the economy and public finances to worsen potentially significantly,” Sunak says.
