UK Edition
Covid has left the public thinking the state can solve all their problems, warns Jeremy Hunt
Chancellor says many have got used to government ‘being able to step in with limitless resources to fix big problems’
Covid has left the public with the idea that the state can step in and solve all their problems, Jeremy Hunt has warned.
Writing in his local newspaper, the Chancellor called next week’s Autumn Statement one of the "biggest responsibilities" of his political career.
He said he believed most people understood the need to cut spending and increase taxes to “put our national finances back on an even keel”.
And he warned: “It is an extremely difficult challenge because after Covid, many people have got used to the state being able to step in with limitless resources to fix big problems.”
Tax rises and tough spending cuts are expected in the Budget, which will come as Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and his Chancellor try to restore confidence in the UK economy after Liz Truss's administration.
Mr Hunt, the MP for South West Surrey, apologised to readers of the Farnham Herald for the break in his weekly column, but assured them he had been "heads down, including over Saturday and Sunday, preparing the Autumn Statement with the Prime Minister".
He said that while the statement was a “difficult challenge”, he added: “In the end, as every family and business knows, you have to find a way to pay for things.
"These are tough times for people everywhere.
"But we are a resilient, tough and resourceful country and have seen off even greater challenges many times before."
He also addressed the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates from 2.25 per cent to three per cent, in its biggest single rise for 33 years.
"It is, of course, very challenging that base rates have just increased again but it is vitally important the Bank of England continues to do its job to restore the stability that comes with low inflation," said Mr Hunt.
The Chancellor, twice defeated in Tory leadership contests, was elevated to one of the most powerful jobs in the country in the dying days of Ms Truss's premiership, before being kept on by Mr Sunak.
Signing off his column, he turned his attention to the "brilliant" local businesses in his locality.
"Delivering the Autumn Statement will be perhaps one of the biggest responsibilities I have undertaken in public life and I will be thinking hard how to help every single one of them," he said.