Inflation, energy bills, fuel prices and tax are increasing in Britain. Voters are already upset, yet worse is to come as the chancellor prepares his spring statement
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskNo British politician has a more revolting menu in front of him than Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. Ahead of a spring statement on March 23rd, silver platters are coming fast and their contents are foul. Inflation is near 6% and may hit 10% later this year. Energy bills are likely to cost British households £38bn extra over the next 12 months, or the equivalent of raising the marginal rate of income tax by six percentage points.
The experience is new to Mr Sunak, whose political rise has been smooth and speedy. After attending Winchester, a fancy private school, and then Oxford University, he embarked on a career in finance, in which he made pots of money . When he entered politics in 2015, aged 34, he was given the constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire, which contains two national parks, a direct train to London and the country’s biggest Conservative majority.
This time, his options are less palatable. Rocketing energy prices and inflation constitute a once-in-a-generation crisis hitting after a once-in-a-century crisis. The Treasury is jittery about whether the national balance-sheet can take more damage. There is no unanimity on what to do. Advice pours in, calling on Mr Sunak to delay tax rises or increase benefits or slash tax on fuel, or perhaps all of the above. Each would leave a nasty taste.
Swallowing the inedible is easier if there is a reason. Those chancellors who reshaped Britain from 11 Downing Street all had a clear vision. When they did unappetising things, such as slashing spending in the case of George Osborne, or holding fast to inherited Conservative spending plans, as Gordon Brown did for New Labour, it was with a sense of purpose.
Criticism of Mr Sunak’s political nous is overdone. Increasing national insurance, which is paid by people of working age, to fund health and social care, which are mainly required by the retired, is the closest a Conservative chancellor can come to taxing Labour voters for the benefit of Tory ones. Likewise, freezing income-tax allowances is about the most politically astute stealth tax imaginable.
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