The government should be honest with the public about its public spending choices

The government’s medium term fiscal plan on 31 October will determine the shape of public spending and taxation for the foreseeable future. Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor of the exchequer, has sought to manage expectations by acknowledging that difficult decisions will need to be made in agreeing the plan, including likely cuts in some areas of spending as well as tax increases. Having reversed most elements in the mini budget announced on 23 September, Hunt needs to find a way of bridging the remaining gap in the public finances, estimated to be tens of billions of pounds, the exact amount depending on the costs of government debt.1Hunt and his colleagues are dealing with this challenge in a context in which “public services are in a fragile state”—in the words of a new independent assessment.2 After a decade of austerity and two years of covid-19, there are signs of extreme stress…
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