Judge me on growth, says Chancellor

5 Oct 2022 02:35 PM

This evening, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng addressed his pro-growth agenda at a packed fringe event hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs and TaxPayers’ Alliance at Conservative Party Conference.

The Chancellor made plain he wishes to be judged on economic growth, claiming “now everyone’s talking about growth”.

Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“There does at last appear now to be a meaningful public conversation about how different policies actually impact economic growth.

“While there will be a wide range of views from all sides, if we can shift the economic debate away from simply determining how money is spent towards how we generate more of it, then perhaps Kwasi Kwarteng’s determination to grow the pie, rather than merely slice the pie, will bear fruit.

“Now, the real challenge for the government is to swiftly show they understand the need for fiscal restraint and display the leadership to bring forward a genuinely exciting programme of deregulation.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“If the chancellor wants to be successful, he needs to stick to his guns and go for growth.”

“Kwasi was right to say that hiking taxes to continue spending billions is not sustainable. 

“His plan for government savings cannot come soon enough.”

Notes to editors

Contact: media@iea.org.uk / 07763 365520

IEA spokespeople are available for interview and further comment.

You can watch the full interview on the IEA YouTube channel here.

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.