John Healey faces a £28bn bill in cuts, tax hikes or borrowing by 2030 after dodging Budget decisions, IFS warns
Sophy Ridge questions Andy Burnham on screen, as the OBR projects net migration rising from 120,000 this year to 230,000 annually by mid-2031.The IFS warns John Healey has burned through 40 per cent of his day-to-day reserve, leaving a £28bn gap to close through cuts, tax hikes or borrowing by 2030.OBR migration projections, as the Chancellor defended his government's record despite forecasts of nearly one million more arrivals than departures over the next five years.
IFS director Helen Miller accused Chancellor John Healey of relying on "hope" to balance the books, warning that unresolved pressures on defence and departmental spending could force £28bn in painful choices before 2030. Inflation top-ups alone could cost £17bn, she cautioned, while hitting the government's 3% GDP defence target by 2030 would add another £11bn on top.
Healey has already spent 25% of the capital reserve and 40% of the day-to-day reserve set aside for the next three years, the IFS noted.
The Resolution Foundation warned that a planned spending slowdown after 2029 puts 13 departments at risk of cuts reaching a "post-austerity historic low".
IFS chief Miller added that Healey had delivered only a "raft of fiddly measures" that would do almost nothing to boost growth.
