What’s been the reaction to the Autumn Statement?published at 08:40 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2022
While some of Jeremy Hunt’s planned economic measures were briefed out to reporters prior to Thursday’s announcement, those looking for the detail only got the full scope of his plan once he’d sat down in the House of Commons.
Labour said the chancellor’s statement was "an invoice for the economic carnage" created by Liz Truss's mini-budget back in September. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Mr Hunt had "picked the pockets" of the entire country with "stealth taxes".
The Liberal Democrats described the Autumn Statement as a "cost-of-chaos budget", with everyone "being forced to pay the price for this Conservative government's incompetence".
The Scottish National Party tweeted that, external "Scotland is paying the price for a Brexit it never voted for and an austerity agenda it rejected”.
Federation of Small Businesses chairman Martin McTague said that while tackling inflation “is essential”, he called for measures “to create conditions for prosperity, growth and support enterprise” and described the statement as a “missed opportunity”.
Ratings agency Moodys - which assesses how credit-worthy countries and businesses are - said the measures showed the UK is committed to fiscal prudence, but warned "the polarised domestic political environment and heightened policy unpredictability may undermine efforts to deliver on fiscal consolidation”.
Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady said everyone was “paying the price for the last decade of Tory governments, which decimated growth and living standards".