TUC Statement on the HM Treasury Spring Statement 2018: Time for action

At the 2017 Autumn Budget the Chancellor looked to “a future that will be full of change; full of new challenges and above all full of new opportunities”. But policy actions fell short of the rhetoric.

At the 2018 Spring Statement the Chancellor is likely to report on the public finances, but he is not expected to take significant policy action. Given the weakness of the economy and threats going forwards – not least from interest rate rises and the approach of brexit - there are major areas where TUC believes policy action to be essential. To take the Chancellor at his word, we focus only on those most relevant to the forecasts.

While we are highly sceptical about claims that the government has now ‘balanced the books’, the Chancellor is running out of excuses not to end the planned cuts and to start investing in UK public services and infrastructure, and delivering pay rises across the board.