“Tax rises are now all but inevitable following the Chancellor’s decision to significantly bolster defence and health spending, no matter what measures are taken between now and the Autumn Budget. The government’s sticking plaster strategy remains an obstacle to addressing the deep-set challenges facing the country.

“Instead, we need a clear, long-term plan to fix and futureproof the UK’s balance sheet, and without this there is little hope of achieving the transformative change needed to propel the country forward.

“While investment in infrastructure projects is a positive move, overall transformative investment is relatively small which reflects the Chancellor’s lack of wriggle room. We are still relatively early in this Parliament, and now is the time to take the steps necessary to put the public finances on a more sustainable path to deliver certainty and stability, and get the economy growing.

“The perilous state of the country’s public finances has left Rachel Reeves with little room for manoeuvre, with a lethal cocktail of high debt, low investment and poor growth ultimately landing the government in a ‘catch-22’ situation: without the money to pay for the investment it so desperately needs to grow the economy, that would in turn generate the tax receipts to pay for that investment.

"The Chancellor has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reboot the system and turn the public finances around. She must not pass it up.”

ENDS

Notes to editors: