Chancellor John Healey is forced into a welfare U-turn HOURS after promising to cut the benefits bill before the election
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.
Disposable incomes for working-age Britons will grow by just 2% over the entire decade — less than after the 2008 financial crisis — as the IFS warns Healey's Budget failed to cover a £28bn shortfall in public finances. The watchdog's director Helen Miller said avoiding austerity for unprotected departments could require a £17bn top-up by 2030-31, before an additional £11bn needed to hit the 3% defence target. The Resolution Foundation put the hit to households even more starkly, estimating families could be £1,050 a year worse off by 2029.
The IFS warned energy costs are set to rise by around £400 per household by next July, while Healey's measures will save the typical family only £140.
The Centre for Social Justice found the £33bn rise in benefits spending between 2027 and 2032 will swallow almost all of the revenue raised from frozen tax thresholds.
CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith called the Budget a failure for business, warning firms already pay energy bills a third higher than European rivals, with prices set to rise further next year.
