We feel relieved the autumn statement wasn’t worse, and that’s no accident

By Richard Steer2022-11-17T15:37:00

Rumour was infrastructure spending would be slashed, thankfully that didn’t happen but everything else looks pretty bad

Due to the pre-briefing and expectation-shaping this autumn statement there was never going to be the surprising cataclysmic event that marked its predecessor. Thank goodness. Mr Hunt said things were going to be bad and sure enough he and the OBR did not pull its punches - it is bad with inflation forecast to average 9.1% this year.

What he did not articulate, however, is that although the economic backdrop was always going to be challenging because of Ukraine, covid and resulting inflation, it has been made so much worse by his party’s choice of selecting Liz Truss as prime minister and Kwasi Kwarteng as the chancellor before him. Due to their aberrations, as far as the global investment community are concerned, the UK is still on the fiscal naughty step.

Already registered? Login here

To continue enjoying Building.co.uk, sign up for free guest access

Existing subscriber? LOGIN

Stay at the forefront of thought leadership with news and analysis from award-winning journalists. Enjoy company features, CEO interviews, architectural reviews, technical project know-how and the latest innovations.

Limited access to building.co.uk
Breaking industry news as it happens
Breaking, daily and weekly e-newsletters

Get your free guest access SIGN UP TODAY

Subscribe now for unlimited access

Subscribe to Building today and you will benefit from:

Unlimited access to all stories including expert analysis and comment from industry leaders
Our league tables, cost models and economics data
Our online archive of over 10,000 articles
Building magazine digital editions
Building magazine print editions
Printed/digital supplements

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

View our subscription options and join our community