Spring Statement 2022: A missed opportunity to keep more money in consumers’ pockets.

The Chancellor’s lacklustre support for households stricken by the rising cost of living crisis is a missed opportunity and demonstrates a concerning shift away from going the extra mile.  

The Chancellor’s reluctance of provide much needed financial support for businesses and consumers demonstrates an unsettling move away from his previous stance of doing everything that he can, to everything that he wants. 

As the cost of living crisis places increasing strain on the country, Rishi Sunak’s failure to bring back annual increases in personal allowances and National Insurance (NI) contribution thresholds is a real missed opportunity to keep more money in consumers’ pockets as they face skyrocketing fuel bills and energy prices, and inflation rates not seen for 30 years. 

What’s more, there should be enough in the UK government’s coffers to go much further with its financial support, at the very least delaying the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy until the end of 2022. 

While low income households will welcome today’s temporary cut in fuel duty and increase in national insurance thresholds, in reality these measures fall far short of the financial support the Chancellor should have introduced, with rising inflation and increasing energy prices meaning people across the country are all worse off than they were before this year began. 

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