Middle England is set for a financial “shock” following Jeremy Hunt’s £55bn package of tax rises and spending cuts, leading economists have warned.
In its analysis of the autumn statement, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said “virtually all of us” can expect to be “worse off”.
“On some measures it looks like we will be an astonishing 30% worse off than we might have expected had pre-financial crisis trends continued through to the mid-2020s,” Paul Johnson, the think-tank’s director said on Friday.
“This will hit everyone. But perhaps it will be those on middling sorts of incomes who feel the biggest hit.
“They won’t benefit from the targeted support to those on means-tested benefits. Their wages are falling and their taxes are rising. Middle England is set for a shock.”
The chancellor said the measures in his autumn statement were necessary to fill a black hole in the government’s finances.
Hunt has argued much of the blame for rampaging inflation and economic turmoil lies at the door of global factors including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But the prime minister and chancellor are also having to try and fix the damage done by Liz Truss’ mini-Budget in September.