No more austerity policies, UK’s Rishi Sunak vows

Rishi Sunak promised the UK won’t see a return to the austerity policies of last decade and that he is “united” with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over plans to rebuild the economy after the pandemic.

The chancellor of the exchequer is gearing up for a multiyear spending review in the fall, at which he’ll set spending budgets for the next three years for government departments. His comments come after several newspapers reported a rift with the prime minister over his approach to spending.

Sunak has stressed the need for fiscal restraint after the government spent about £350bn fighting Covid-19 and protecting businesses and workers from the effects of lockdowns.

He’s already cut aid spending and frozen pay for some public sector workers, leading to speculation about further austerity measures along the line of those pursued by successive Conservative governments since 2010. But on Thursday, he said he remains committed to the government’s spending pledges.

“What we’re going to see is absolutely no return to austerity,” Sunak told Sky News, referring to the fall spending round. “People are going to see very strong investment in public services.”

There’s certainly pressure on the public purse, and the government’s own fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, warned in July of three potentially catastrophic risks to the country’s finances. It totted up £30bn of unfunded pressures over the next three years.

Sunak reiterated a previous promise that he’ll be raising annual public spending by £100bn per year over the course of the current five-year parliament. He also stressed the government’s commitment to hire 50,000 new nurses, 20,000 new police officers and build 40 new hospitals.

The chancellor spoke after Office for National Statistics figures showed the UK economy grew 1% in June — more than the 0.8% predicted by economists, showing the recovery is taking hold.

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