Rishi Sunak will deliver his spring statement today as a cost-of-living crisis grips the country.
Pressure is building on the Chancellor to unveil new plans to help struggling households as he is set to vow to “stand by” British families facing spiralling.
Mr Sunak will link the stability of the UK economy to standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin against his invasion of Ukraine.
But despite his tough words for the Kremlin, he faces a crisis at home as Labour accused him of being the “high-tax Chancellor”, and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) urged him to do more.
What is the Chancellor expected to say?
Mr Sunak is expected to outline further plans to support households facing financial hardship.
But he will tell MPs in the Commons that having a strong economy is vital in tackling Moscow’s aggression.
READ MORE: Sunak condemned as 'high tax' and 'poverty' Chancellor as he prepares spring update
“So when I talk about security, yes – I mean responding to the war in Ukraine,” he is expected to say.
“But I also mean the security of a faster-growing economy, the security of more resilient public finances, and security for working families as we help with the cost of living.”
The response to the war in Ukraine will form part of the statement
What are the issues facing the Chancellor?
A briefing from the House of Commons library said the cost of living across the UK has been rising since early 2021, while in January this year inflation reached its highest recorded level since 1992.
The Chancellor has already announced a £200 loan to gas and electricity payments from October – although not until the price cap jumps 54%.
Plus, certain households will get a £150 council tax rebate in April.
The Treasury has said the measures announced so far add up to around £21 billion of support this year, taking in the rebate, changes to Universal Credit, and the freezing of fuel and alcohol duties.
READ MORE: Tory grab laid bare as income tax and national insurance pain set to begin
But Mr Sunak is also expected to set how a new culture of enterprise, urging the private sector to train, invest, and innovate more.
Other options available to him include a cut to fuel duty or adjustments to VAT in certain sectors. The Resolution Foundation think tank has suggested an uprating of benefits, while there have been calls to scrap the planned National Insurance rise.
Fuel prices are high
When will the statement be made?
The Spring Statement will begin at 12.30pm, and will be delivered by the Chancellor from the House of Commons.
His speech will follow Boris Johnson’s latest appearance at PMQs, which starts at 12pm.
The briefing will be stremed live on parliament TV and will feature on BBC News 24
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel