Just because the chancellor calls it a “Budget for growth” doesn’t mean it actually is one. As with most Budgets, the greater the spin, the less the substance.
The announcement that following January’s unexpected fiscal surplus, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)was reducing its forecast for the fiscal deficit for the year to 5 April 2023 by £30bn led to excited speculation about how the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, might respond to the better numbers.
Subsequently, research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated that Hunt would have £97.5bn of headroom to cut taxes or invest, more than ten times the amount estimated by the OBR, while keeping to his target on debt. This estimate is supported by
