Hunt's taxes have fleeced families and firms more...

ANYONE who says there are easy answers “isn’t being straight with the British people”, said Jeremy Hunt in the House of Commons on Thursday. But the Chancellor wasn’t straight with us when he delivered his Autumn Statement.

- Liam Halligan

The UK’s cost-of-living squeeze has been getting tighter, with millions of cash-strapped families struggling to make ends meet. Countless businesses are suffering – not least the small and medium-sized firms that generate most growth and jobs.

Headline inflation hit 11.1 percent in October, a 41-year high – as prices faced by households keep rising. The producer price index was even higher – up 19.2 per cent last month – with firms’ input costs surging, not least energy and raw materials. Supply-chain price pressures mean inflation in the shops will get worse before it gets better.

With wages lagging price rises, sapping spending power and broader confidence, the UK economy has stalled. Even healthy firms are on “investment strike”, with many refusing to expand, as inflation erodes profits and hammers consumer sentiment.

That’s why GDP – gross domestic product, the sum of all transactions – shrank between July and September. The Office for Budget Responsibility says that will continue, with GDP falling another 1.4 per cent during 2023.