Boris Johnson has hinted at an announcement about addressing the cost of living crisis in coming days – but the Treasury swiftly denied there would be an emergency budget.
The prime minister came under pressure over the surge in prices facing British households during the Commons debate on the Queen’s Speech, which sets out the government’s legislative agenda.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed the government was “bereft of ideas” as the nation heads towards a “stagflation crisis” – using the term to describe when weak economic growth is combined with high inflation.
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Mr Johnson acknowledged that the aftershocks from the pandemic had seen energy and food prices surge across the world but said that the government had “the fiscal firepower to help families up and down the country with all the pressures they face now”.
He added: “We will continue to use all our ingenuity and compassion for as long as it takes and the chancellor and I will be saying more about this in the days to come.”
A Treasury spokesman said immediately after the PM’s comments that there would be no emergency budget.
Last month, chancellor Rishi Sunak said he would need to see how far fuel prices go up before coming forward with new measures.
“Depending on what happens to bills then, of course, if we need to act and provide support for people, we will,” he told Mumsnet at the time.
“But it would be silly to do that now or last month or the month before when we don’t know exactly what the situation in the autumn will be.”
‘We cannot spend our way of this problem’
Later during his address to the Commons, the prime minister said: “However great our compassion and ingenuity, we cannot…
Source : skynews
