After the chaos of the last two months the obvious aim of Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement was to reassure the markets that the “grown ups” are back in charge and have a plan to balance the books. Hunt especially wanted the markets to know that the Bank of England and the government are no longer pulling in different directions but are, as he put it, marching “in lockstep”.
And it’s true. The problem is that their common agenda of austerity and higher interest rates is pushing us into a deepening recession. Although some economists are predicting, and the government is praying, that it may be a relatively shallow recession, after 12 years of austerity most people do not have the financial resilience to avoid the hardship this will inflict upon them.
Content from our partners
