Autumn Statement: Energy price cap increase dampens Hunt’s ‘tax cuts’ as he denies pre-election handout – live

Buried in the OBR forecasts is a warning that Rishi Sunak’s decision to delay a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales “may result in some consumers delaying a switch to EVs”.

The spending watchdog said another law, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, is now the main driver of people transitioning to electric cars. The mandate sets a minimum share of cars and vans sold by each manufacturer to be zero emission.

As a result of the changes, and slower than expected take-up of electric vehicles so far, the OBR has significantly lowered its forecast for the speed of the transition away from petrol and diesel cars.

The RSPB has accused Jeremy Hunt of missing an opportunity.

Jeff Knott, director of policy and advocacy at the bird and wildlife charity, said: “Nature is in crisis, yet the UK government is silent. With barely a word in the Autumn Statement about actions to tackle the nature and climate emergency, it is hard to see how we can get nature’s recovery on track in time for 2030.

“The natural world underpins everything in our lives, including the economy, and there is strong evidence to show that investing in nature improves our long-term economic performance.

“This was a chance for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to prove that the UK government is committed to promises made to protect and restore 30% of our land and sea by 2030.

“There was rightly a push for better infrastructure and housing, but there was nothing about how these can help drive nature’s renewal.”

Rachel Reeves has called time on Rishi Sunak’s government, declaring that “the ravens are leaving the tower” as she highlighted The Independent’s revelation that Saatchi & Saatchi was no longer backing the party

The shadow chancellor used The Independent’s disclosure that Richard Huntington, strategy chief of the advertising firm that helped Margaret Thatcher become prime minister, to attack the “cruel” Conservatives and forecast a Labour election victory in response to Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement.

Watch the clip here:

Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has pointed out that Jeremy Hunt announced a “long-term cash freeze in investment spending”, saying it was a “significant real cut” and “not good for growth”.

The IFS economist also said the 1 per cent per year increase in resource spending was “incredibly tight” and would mean “a lot of public services will see cuts”.

Mr Johnson said the autumn statement meant another year of very tight spending and left the long-term tax burden at the same record level.

He added: “Cut in tax rates today [will be] paid for by uncertain spending restraint tomorrow.”

It’s "shameful" Mr Hunt’s statement did not tackle the crisis in social care, according to a charity for unpaid carers, Jane Dalton reports.

Kirsty McHugh, head of the Carers Trust, said: "More than 100 measures were announced in the Autumn Statement and it is shameful that not one of them gets anywhere near easing a social care crisis that is causing so much suffering for so many. The system remains starved of investment and still has no long-term funding plan.

“For a chancellor who claims the best way to tackle poverty is through work, it’s scandalous that there is next to nothing in his Autumn Statement to help make that a reality for unpaid family carers. There are around seven million of them in the UK and many are being driven into poverty by having to give up paid work so they can look after loved ones."

The IFS said Mr Hunt’s national insurance cut was largely or entirely offset by the impact of his and Mr Sunak’s tax threshold freezes, Matt Mathers and Archie Mitchell report.

The influential think tank said full-time minimum wage employees, earning £20,800 per year, will only gain £165 per year from the cut, while being hit by £413 in so-called stealth taxes.

It said a full-time worker earning the average salary of £35,000 per year will gain £449 from the cut, which will be almost wiped out by £413 in extra tax due to frozen thresholds.

And a high earner on £60,000 per year will pay more than twice as much additional tax as what they save on national insurance contributions.

IFS director Paul Johnson said average earners will benefit “slightly” from the change while “low earners and high earners will still be worse off”.

People who are dying are too unwell to work, cancer charity Marie Curie has said as it criticised a lack of targeted support for the terminally ill.

The charity welcomed Jeremy Hunt’s decision to raise benefits in line with inflation but said canncer patients needed more help with their energy bills.

Dr Sam Royston, Marie Curie executive director of policy and sesearch, said: The chancellor said that the best way to tackle poverty is through work.

“Simply put, many people who are dying are too unwell to work and will die before they are old enough to claim their State Pension. They needed more targeted support today. Particularly with energy bills.

“Any suggestion that people with a terminal illness would be forced back to work would be inhumane.

The government must confirm that, regardless of what reforms are introduced to Work Capability Assessments, all terminally ill people will be exempt from having to look for work.”

The Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady is on hand to explain how tax cuts and benefits reforms could affect your wallet and confidence in the Tory party.

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The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the chancellor Jeremy Hunt has spent “virtually all” of the £27bn-worth of “fiscal headroom” – mainly on the £21bn cost of tax cuts, plus some more on the cost of welfare reforms, writes Adam Forrest.

But the OBR also warned that the windfall spent on tax cuts “is mainly a reflection of a £19.1bn erosion in the real value of departmental spending.”

The OBR said “a 2.3 per cent a year real terms fall in day-to-day spending” would “present challenges” – polite speak for painful spending cuts.

So does it mean austerity ahead? Ian Mulheirn, an economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank said it showed the “completely implausible implications” of the tax cuts.

Stephanie Flanders, head of economics at Bloomberg, said it left a “ticking time bomb” for whoever is in charge in the next parliament.

Home secretary James Cleverly has denied claims that he called a Labour MP’s constituency a “shithole”.

Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, alleged the comment was made during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Speaking in the Commons later, the Labour MP for Stockton North called out the Home Secretary and demanded an apology.

Mr Cleverly’s spokesman said: “He did not say that, and would not. He’s disappointed people would accuse him of doing so.”

Ben Hatton reports: