Rishi Sunak could push Britain into a ‘new era of austerity’ in order to save £50 billion

New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could push Britain into a “new era of austerity” as predicted by research director James Smith if Sunak “freezes spending” as part of an attempt to save £50 billion.

Areas such as transport, police and housing could see cuts as severe as 9 per cent according to Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank which focuses on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes.

In an attempt to recuperate the nation’s finances Manchester Evening News have reported that the Prime Minister and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering spending cuts and tax hikes up to £50 billion.

Currently, public service budgets continue to suffer significant pressure and remain below pre-austerity level whilst inflation rates soar into the double figures. In a financial reverse, some planned rises have turned into cuts, such as the planned increase of £1.5 billion in 2024-25 for education turning into a cut of £1 billion.

Smith has spelled out that “significant reductions in day-to-day public service spending are on the cards, while protecting areas such as health and defence. This would repeat a key option chosen by Conservative-led governments since 2010” which suggests how well this plan would work to recover the nation’s economy 12 years later.

The research director of Resolution Foundation has also suggested that “freezing such spending in real terms would save £20 billion a year but mean a further 9% budget cut to public services such as transport, policing and housing, and take Britain into a new era of austerity.”

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