UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt admits government made ‘mistakes’ with Liz Truss’s spending plans

The Chancellor told the Treasury Select Committee this morning that the tax cuts and spending plans unveiled by Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng in September 2022 had been proven to be “mistakes”.

He told MPs: “Yes, there were some mistakes in the mini-Budget which we had to reverse and in particular I think it is clear you can’t fund tax cuts through increased borrowing,” according to The Telegraph.

“That is a clear thing that we changed course on.”

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt laid out a range of policies in his budget announcement on March 15, including plans to boost pensions, expand free childcare and cut duty on fuel and draft beer.

He also confirmed the UK is not forecast to enter a technical recession this year and that the government “will meet the prime minister’s priorities to halve inflation, reduce debt and get the economy growing”.

He also said the government will add £11 billion to the defence budget until 2028 amid the continuing Russian war in Ukraine.

However Jeremy Hunt’s pension reforms will fail to get over-50s who have already retired back to work, experts have warned.

The lifetime allowance, which caps the amount that people can save tax-free into their pension at £1.073m, will be abolished entirely from April 2024, as part of the Government’s campaign to lure over-50s back into the workforce.

Hunt is continuing to give evidence to parliament´s Treasury committee today and updates will be provided later on Wednesday.

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