He hit back against accusations it was too modest, saying: “I’d fundamentally contest that this is not a significant Budget.”
asserted
this → hit → accusations
The influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said the Budget’s “raft of fiddly measures” would do little to boost growth and warned it delayed tough decisions, and the left-leaning Resolution Foundation think tank said Mr Healey had “spread the jam thin”.
asserted
Healey → say → jam
But the Chancellor insisted it included “some big decisions”, pointing to energy reforms including offering millions of households £100 to help with soaring energy bills, as well as defence spending.
asserted
it → insist → bills
In Wednesday’s speech in the Commons, he committed to spending 3% of economic output on defence by 2030, and to “fully funding” the £4.7 billion black hole in the defence investment plan (Dip) left by Sir Keir Starmer.
asserted
he → commit → Starmer
The Dip shortfall will be funded “through reprioritisation of capital budgets”, according to the Budget document.
uncertain
shortfall → fund → document
Departments across Government will be asked to reduce their capital budgets by 1% each between 2027-28 and 2029-30 to raise some £3 billion.
asserted
Departments → ask → billion
The remaining £1.7 billion shortfall will be made up from an “unallocated contingency in the Treasury’s capital reserve”, the Budget said.
asserted
Budget → remain → reserve
In a round of post-Budget broadcast interviews, Mr Healey told Good Morning Britain that funding the Dip “involved hard choices, it’s reprioritising within Government”.
asserted
it → tell → Government
And he signalled that departments would have to further slash spending to pay for choices made at the spending review next year.
asserted
departments → signal → review
He told Bloomberg: “My Cabinet colleagues are demonstrating that they can also exert fiscal discipline and spending control, and we will take that into the spending review.
asserted
we → tell → review
Read More
“But the spending review will be framed by the priorities that we set in the 10-year plan for Britain, that’s as it should be.
asserted
it → read → Britain
“Hard decisions about the top priorities for Britain in the years to come, judgments that then follow about how we fund them.”
asserted
we → come → them
Meanwhile, Mr Healey denied postponing difficult decisions on the welfare system amid criticism he had failed to deal with the ballooning cost of welfare.
asserted
he → deny → welfare
He said ministers had already brought in a range of measures to cut the cost, including reinstating face-to-face assessments, tweaking the “terms of universal credit, so people don’t have to brand themselves as too sick to work”.
asserted
people → say → themselves
Asked whether the benefits bill would be cut before the next general election, Mr Healey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There will be a reduction in the benefits bill, we’ll do that in a Labour way and we’ll do that because it is simply not good for Britain or progressive to have a bigger and bigger benefits bill.”
asserted
it → ask → bill
However, Treasury officials later stressed he was not setting a timeframe for the welfare reduction.
asserted
he → stress → reduction
Tory shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith argued the Government could find the money to boost defence spending by curbing the welfare bill.
uncertain
Government → argue → bill
He told Times Radio: “It’s not the only area of Government spending that people should look at to try and make savings and live within our means.
asserted
people → tell → means
“But if your welfare bill is going up by £60 billion, and you’re struggling to try and find £10 billion for defence, I honestly don’t think it is that hard.”
asserted
it → go → defence
In the IFS initial response to the fiscal statement, director Helen Miller said: “The plan to reduce borrowing has been pushed back.
asserted
plan → say → borrowing
“This Budget has a raft of fiddly measures but very little that will move the dial on growth.”
asserted
that → have → growth
She added: “Whether reductions in borrowing can actually be delivered depends heavily on public service spending plans, where growth is set to slow sharply after this year.
“History warns us to be sceptical of tight spending plans in later years of the forecast.”
asserted
History → add → forecast
Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, which has been influential on Labour’s thinking, said: “Faced with a tough backdrop amid global economic turmoil, the Chancellor delivered a scattergun Budget that did little to address the sharp challenges facing Britain.
asserted
that → say → Britain
“Cost-of-living support is being spread far too thinly and will leave even those families receiving help facing higher energy bills than they did during the last energy price shock.”
asserted
they → spread → shock
The Budget will face closer scrutiny on Thursday when the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog and Resolution Foundation researchers host a post-Budget briefing.
asserted
watchdog → face → briefing
The IFS will also give a considered analysis of the Budget.
asserted
IFS → give → Budget
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Mr Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will seek to rally support for the Budget on a visit to a Rolls-Royce factory in the East Midlands.
asserted
Burnham → seek → Midlands
The Aporia
