The Spring Statement this week, like so many other “fiscal events” staged by the government in the past two years, arrives at point of a deepening crisis. After a year of consistently rising prices across the developed world, the aftershocks from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine have caused prices of essentials such as wheat and natural gas to soar still higher. Even the conservative Bank of England forecasts inflation to reach as much as 7 per cent this year.
Next month, with the raising of the energy price cap, a typical household in Britain will face a 56 per cent rise in their energy bills, up nearly £700 a year. There will be an increase in people’s National Insurance Contributions, and increases in the price of food and transport will continue to run well ahead of the headline inflation rate. The stage is set for what could plausibly be the worst decline in living standards in Britain since the early years of the Industrial Revolution.
Content from our partners
