Rishi Sunak unveiled his Spring Statement this week as Britons face a significant drop in their living standards owing to the rising cost of fuel, energy and food.
As the cost-of-living crisis escalates, Sunak was under pressure to take an ambitious approach in his “mini budget”. The chancellor produced a few rabbits out of the Treasury’s hat, including a cut in fuel duty, a rise in the National Insurance (NI) threshold and a promise to cut the basic rate of income tax by 2024.
But the health and social care levy, much-maligned across the political spectrum, has remained. And voters may not be much impressed by Sunak’s tactic of “taking tax with one hand next month and giving some of it back with the other in 2024”, said The Independent.
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Elsewhere, President Joe Biden warned that Nato could respond against Russia if it carried out a chemical attack in Ukraine. In an ambiguous statement following a summit of Nato leaders in Brussels, Biden told journalists that the Western alliance “would respond” if Putin used chemical weapons. “The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use,” he said.
The warning raises the prospect of Nato troops or military assets being used in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, after weeks of the alliance saying it would not risk a direct military confrontation.
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