In an interview published by the Financial Times on Saturday, the so-called Chancellor of the Exchequer stressed that he would not “inject billions of pounds of additional demand” into the British economy, which would only “complicate the fight against inflation”. “.
And Hunt acknowledged that containing rising prices was proving “more complicated” than Rishi Sunak’s Tory government had thought, making it difficult to deliver on its promise to halve inflation by the end of the year.
Last May, inflation remained for the second consecutive month at 8.7% year on year, forcing the Bank of England to raise interest rates by half a point, to 5%, the highest level in 15 years.
In the interview, the minister called on companies not to raise prices and reminded them that they have a “moral responsibility” towards customers at a time of cost of living crisis.
“There are times when it’s legitimate to rebuild margin and there are times when you have to think about the impact on customers,” he said.
Despite the fact that several Conservative MPs had urged the executive to cut taxes in the face of elections due next year, Hunt resisted taking this course despite acknowledging that it was already leading to political criticism.
Likewise, despite the significant mobilization in the public sector in recent months, the Chancellor has ruled out accepting increases of more than 6% for his employees.
On Monday in the City of London, Hunt will present so-called “palace fixes” to unlock billions of pounds in pension funds destined for fast-growing start-ups.
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