- Former chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt has urged John Healey and Andy Burnham to take bold economic action in the upcoming October Budget, warning that short-term tinkering would be a “missed opportunity” for the country.
- Sir Jeremy cautioned against letting fears of repeating Liz Truss's 2022 mini-Budget paralyse policy, proposing significant moves such as replacing the pensions triple lock with an inflation lock and increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.
- The intervention follows a KPMG economic forecast revealing that sluggish growth and escalating borrowing costs linked to the Middle East conflict have erased nearly £12 billion from the government's fiscal headroom.
- Sir Jeremy argued that Andy Burnham should use his strong standing within the Labour Party to overhaul the welfare bill, describing the current system as unsustainable and claiming now is the ideal moment to make difficult choices.
- Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Sir Jeremy have cast doubt on proposals to align capital gains tax with income tax, warning that simple tax increases will not easily yield expected Treasury revenues without broader tax reform.
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