WIREDGOV

• Massive public spending cuts have failed to reduce government borrowing
• Treasury’s own figures show poorest hardest hit by tax and benefit changes

James Meadway, Senior Economist at the New Economics Foundation (NEF) said:

“George Osborne has once again put a brave face on his own failures. Despite the worst cuts in public spending for three generations, he’s still borrowing £60bn more this year than planned. Because he’s overseen a continued fall in real wages, his tax revenues are also plummeting. Even the government’s own forecasts don’t show real wages rising until 2017, using the previous RPI measure of inflation.”

“The announcements on flood defence are particularly galling. The Chancellor cut flood defence spending by 25% in his first few years, leaving thousands of homes exposed. The £2.1bn doesn’t compensate for that, or the rising costs of climate change, and isn’t even new money.”

“The Treasury’s own figures show the poorest 40% have been made worse off by Osborne’s tax and benefit changes. The poorest fifth of Britons are £441 worse off each year as a direct result of the Chancellor’s policies. An Autumn Statement that truly addressed the underlying problems in our economy would shift the burden of taxation towards the wealthiest in society, strengthen the minimum wage, and boost investment to create good, sustainable jobs.”