Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt warns of challenges as living standards plunge

Government forecasters predict the biggest drop in living standards since records began as families face real challenges.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, household income will fall over the next eighteen months.

The chancellor said tax rises and a spending squeeze would help tame inflation, which he said had caused the drop.

Labour said he had picked the nation's pockets.

The emergency budget measures were described as an invoice for the economic carnage created by the policies of the former prime minister.

In a sombre statement lasting just under an hour, Mr Hunt undid much of the tax-cutting mini-budget unveiled by his predecessors as chancellor.

It was deliberately stripped of surprises and political theatre.

Mr Hunt said his plan would bring down inflation and protect public services.

"These are real challenges for families up and down the country, but there's a plan, there's hope, and if we follow it, we'll be fine," he said.

The way we do this needs to be sensible. We don't want the economy to get worse.

• Tax thresholds will be frozen until April 2028, meaning millions will pay more tax
• Spending on public services in England will rise more slowly than planned - with some departments facing cuts after the next election
• The state pensions triple lock will be kept, meaning pensioners will see a 10.1% rise in weekly payments
• The household energy price cap has been extended for one year beyond April but made less generous, with typical bills capped at £3,000 a year instead of £2,500
• There will be additional cost-of-living payments for the "most vulnerable", with £900 for those on benefits, and £300 for pensioners
• The top 45% additional rate of income tax will be paid on earnings over £125,140, instead of £150,000
• UK minimum wage for people over 23 to increase from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour
• The windfall tax on oil and gas firms will increase from 25% to 35%, raising £55bn from this year until 2028

Extra money was announced for schools, the health service and social care in England.

Mr Hunt said that he had not been forced to raise taxes or reduce spending because of the mini-Budget.

He said the government had corrected the mistakes.

He said that Germany, France and America were all facing the same problems as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Hunt said he had not put off difficult decisions.

The Chancellor's tone was sober, the facial expressions of Conservative MPs were business like.

The opposition parties were relatively quiet, as times are and will continue to be very hard for millions of households.

The Office for Budget Responsibility says that living standards are falling more than at any point since the 1950s.

The chancellor is wrestling with a recession and is responding with tax rises that are the highest in 75 years.

The state pension, benefits, and announcements on spending for education and health shield the government against the idea that this is another era of austerity, according to him.

Inflation pickpockets the spending power of many government departments.

Spending squeezes have been put off until after the next election.

After an election and a hospital pass to the future, that could be the case.

High inflation and rising interest rates will tip the UK's economy into a recession, according to the OBR.

The economy will shrink by 1.4% in the year 2023, according to the predictions.

The forecaster says that the tax burden would go up as a result of Mr Hunt's decisions.

One of the new fiscal rules is a goal to reduce government debt in five years. The end date can be extended every year at the budget according to Richard Hughes.

The Autumn statement put more pressure on the middle class, according to the Resolution Foundation.

During an energy price shock, Britain is getting poorer. The choice was faced by the chancellor.

The Labour Party attacked Mr Hunt's plans in Parliament, saying he had introduced a Conservative double whammy that saw frozen tax thresholds and double digit inflation erode the real value of people's wages.

She argued that freezing the personal allowance, the amount of income someone does not have to pay tax on, would cost an average earner more than $600 a year.

People are being forced to pay the price for the incompetence of the Conservatives, according to the Liberal Democrats.

The UK is so weak that no one would want to join it, according to Alison Thewliss.

The measures announced were based on unreliable economic forecasts and were attacked by the chancellor's own side.

I'm worried about the tax rises when the economy is in a recession. When you're at the peak of a boom, you have to be a bit more budget-conscious.

The Conservatives are seeking assurances from the chancellor that he won't raise fuel duty.

The tax is supposed to rise in line with inflation, but has never done so. A final decision won't be made until the next budget in the spring of23.

A lot of Conservative MPs would be opposed to a rise.