The IFS has confirmed what we suspected Philip Hammond was really saying yesterday - McDonnell

Thursday, 14 March 2019 13:12

John McDonnell MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis of the Spring Statement, said: “The IFS has confirmed what we suspected Philip Hammond was really saying yesterday: that we are a long way from the end of austerity promised by Theresa May last year. “Despite a windfall from the rapidly rising earnings of the super-rich, there was no new money for schools, social care or the justice system...Request free trial

John McDonnell MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis of the Spring Statement, said:

“The IFS has confirmed what we suspected Philip Hammond was really saying yesterday: that we are a long way from the end of austerity promised by Theresa May last year.

“Despite a windfall from the rapidly rising earnings of the super-rich, there was no new money for schools, social care or the justice system driven into crisis by this Government, and the Chancellor still remains “not currently on course” to meet his balanced budget target.

“The IFS also highlighted that there is ‘no reprieve’ for those who rely on social security, with yet another year of cruel real terms cuts in benefits ahead.

“Austerity has failed on its own terms, as well as for the millions who are paying the price for the Conservatives’ decisions to go ahead with tax cuts for the rich and corporations.

“The Chancellor should stop using the continuation of austerity as a threat to try and force MPs into supporting the Government’s dead Brexit deal.”

Ends

Notes to editors

IFS analysis https://www.ifs.org.uk/spring-statement-2019

The OBR on reasons for increased tax receipt forecasts: “Real-time information (RTI) indicates that earnings growth at the very top of the employee earnings distribution has been particularly strong. Mean total pay between April and September for the top 0.1 per cent rose 5.9 per cent on a year earlier, compared with a 3.7 per cent rise for the whole distribution on this measure. The latest receipts data suggest that difference may have widened further since then.”https://cdn.obr.uk/March-2019_EFO_Web-Accessible.pdf p80, supported by the IFS here https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/Spring%20Statement%202019%20modest%20windfall%20banked%20%28for%20now%29.pdf