Hunt’s Autumn Statement begins an honest conversation with the UK electorate

By Ellie McGarahan

MHP’s Public Affairs team hosted a webinar with a panel of experts including Sonia Sodha, Chief Leader Writer and Columnist at The Observer. Here’s what she had to say on Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement and reaction to his announcements:

• The statement put forward by the Chancellor was arguably better than many were expecting, particularly with the announcement that spending cuts will be pushed back to beyond the next general election. That said, it’s still going to be painful period for taxpayers and public services, because inflation will erode any extra funding being pumped into supporting them.

• It’s unsurprising that we didn’t see higher taxes for the wealthy, as to do so wouldn’t have filled the fiscal black hole. Everyone will be paying for these commitments, and everyone will be poorer as a result. The government are beginning to have an honest conversation with the electorate which ultimately boils down to: “you get the services you pay for”.

• Nobody will deny that there are global macroeconomic factors that will inevitably worsen outcomes for the UK economy, but these have been compounded by many that are unique to the UK, including: Brexit and its negative impacts on export growth; a long-term productivity issue that has long needed to be addressed; and a lack of investment in infrastructure, business funding and skills, compared to other nations.

• Following Hunt’s statement and in the run up to the next general election, Labour will be trying to “ram home” the message that the pain taxpayers will feel as a result of Hunt’s statement on Thursday is a direct result of the “chaos” caused by Kwasi Kwarteng’s Mini Budget. They will also play into the idea that as gas companies’ profits continue to soar, many will be questioning how fair it is to effectively lower people’s real wages to prop up public services.

“We want to hear from companies there are actually helping”

By Alan Tovey, former Daily Telegraph Industry Editor, and Pauline Guenot

At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, companies were reluctant to push positive stories. Now with country facing a fresh crisis as the cost of living stretches household budgets to breaking point, does this still hold true?

No, according to Sun Business Editor Ashley Armstrong: “There’s a huge appetite from readers to know what companies are doing to help, and who is doing the right thing.”

For businesses pushing out results, there’s certainly room to mention the cost-of-living crisis. More than one in three consumer-facing companies – 37%, according to analysis by MHP’s Capital Markets team – mentioned the term in updates to the market.

The Sun is willing to report on those companies trying to help consumers and staff as the UK dives into recession, according to Ashley. But only if they are doing it for the right reasons and not as ESG box-ticking exercise.

“We want to hear from companies that are [actually] helping,” she said. “We gave quite a lot of coverage to companies that were doing cost-of-living staff bonuses. I think that it’s really important to show that businesses can be good.”

But stunts just to make headlines that don’t deliver for Sun readers come with a huge health warning, according to Ashely. She said: “What needs to be clear is that they are actually helping, and not just trying to get good publicity.”