Hammond heralds ‘end of austerity’ as debt and deficit forecasts improve
Chancellor Philip Hammond heralded the “end of austerity” in his Budget speech today as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) improved its outlook and said debt and the deficit would continue to fall.
The OBR has improved its GDP growth forecast to 1.6 per cent for 2019 – increased from the 1.3 per cent forecasted at the Spring Statement.
Growth would then fall to 1.4 per cent in 2020 and 2021, rise to 1.5 per cent in 2022 and hit 1.6 per cent in 2023.
The OBR also predicted the deficit would fall to 1.4 per cent in 2019 and continue to drop to 0.8 per cent in 2023-24.
Hammond added that the independent advisory body said national debt, which peaked at 85.2 per cent in 2016-17, would fall every year of the forecast to 2023/24 – from 83.7 per cent this year to 74.1 per cent in 2023-24.
During his Budget speech Philip Hammond said the “hard work” of the British public had paid off and that austerity was “coming to an end”.
The Chancellor also said real wage growth was set to grow in each of the next five years and that inflation would move to the two per cent target.