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Rishi Sunak keeps his rabbits firmly under his hat. Before Wednesday’s spring statement, the chancellor had not even shared his plans to ease the cost-of-living crisis with most of the top staff at Number 10 — only Boris Johnson’s private office and officials from policy could see the details.
Inside the Treasury, Sunak’s team is sworn to secrecy. But the fact that they are so vulnerable is in itself evidence that the statement may be more ambitious than previously planned: Just two months ago, it was meant to be a direct update on financial forecasts that were not required of Fort Knox’s stance on security.
We know that there will be measures to reduce the cost of gasoline, although lowering fuel prices will inevitably encourage drivers to use more. We know Snack will seek to reduce the impact of the crisis on low-wage Britons, perhaps by taking them out of National Insurance or increasing benefits.
But the chancellor will also point out that in the long run, the only way to raise incomes without increasing inflation is to make our economy more productive, squeezing more production out of every hour worked.
Do you have the ideas to make it happen and get out of what Labor calls a “high tax, low growth economy”? Sunak is expected to lay the groundwork for new corporate tax breaks, and move the UK towards a continental model in which rates are higher but companies can avoid by investing their profits rather than distributing them to shareholders.
The chancellor has made a name for himself with glamorous speeches and, in fact, may pull a rabbit out of his hat tomorrow, ensuring positive headlines and an increase in ratings for his opinions. But he knows that in the long run, it is the unattractive task of increasing productivity that will make the British people richer and safer.
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