of the economy, chancellor? jeremy hunt has some good news he wants to trumpet. the bank of england has driven inflation down — it's halved this year. so now the chancellor says it's time to try to get the economy growing. in today's autumn statement for growth, our choice is not big government, high spending and high tax, because we know that leads to less growth, not more. instead, we reduce debt, cut taxes and reward work. he announced, under the triple lock, the state pension will go up by over 8% next year, and many benefits up by more than 6%. i'm going to go further and cut the main rate of employee national insurance by two percentage points, from i2%, to 10%. it mean someone on a salary of £35,000 a year would save over £450. to encourage businesses to invest, he is making a temporary scheme permanent — it allows the cost of any upgrades, computers, machinery and the like to be deducted from profits before they're taxed. i will today make full expensing permanent, the largest business tax cut in modern british history. on top of that, there will be no increase in duty on beer, wine or spirits. his issue is how voters are feeling. living standards are still forecast to fall, interest rates are over 5%, and inflation at almost the same, still biting. used to get six oranges for a pound. seven for a pound. now it's five for a pound. lemons, ten for a pound. now it's seven for a pound. it's hard for the customer and hard for us as well. the government's hope is that a tax cut can lift some of the gloom. this is the bill before, where we paid £1,200, £1,300. now it is more than £2,000. is this the right time for tax cuts? absolutely. under this government, tax has gone up to record levels, partly because rishi sunak froze the entry point at which tax is paid. the column shows what an average worker earns, £29,000 last year. above the dotted line is what you pay tax on. this year, that same worker gets over £32,000. inflation has pushed up wages. but since the personal allowance, the black dotted line has not shifted, the government is taxing over £3,000 more of your income. the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, rachel reeves. and the total amount of tax the government is taking from the economy is still growing, as labour immediately pointed out. going into this statement, the government had already put in place tax increases worth the equivalent of a iop increase in national insurance. so today's 2p cut will not remotely compensate for the tax increases already put in place by this conservative government. whatjeremy hunt did not say was that official figures for how much the economy may grow next year and the year after have been revised — down. does anything in britain work better today than when the conservatives came into office 13 years ago? no! we all know that working people are worse off under the conservatives. with growth down, mortgages up, prices up, taxes up, debt is up, and, mr speaker, their time is up. mr hunt was appointed chancellor by liz truss, to clear up after her disastrous mini budget. today, the government's hope is a corner — economically and in the polls — can be turned. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the views there and some reaction to what we heard from the chancellor in his autumn statement. we heard there from the shadow rachel reeves. earlier i spoke to ed davey. he told me what he made of the autumn statement for shallow tax is going to go up next year on taxpayers, not down. the conservatives found no extra support for the nhs, which is in desperate need. we need to invest in desperate need. we need to invest in it so we can get back to work. to fill like the nhs is being ignored because yellow the prime minister said the nhs is no longer one of his priorities. the nhs needing more money so people can get back to work and get early treatment, that is a very bad economic policy. what you make of the government's proposed changes to those on long—term sick? to think that is the right approach? there are people who have been forced out of work because they can't get the health treatment they need. the conservatives need to concentrate on that and their failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy. d0 failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy-— failure on the nhs is really hurting our economy. do you disagree with that oli our economy. do you disagree with that policy of _ our economy. do you disagree with that policy of removing _ our economy. do you disagree with that policy of removing benefits - our economy. do you disagree with | that policy of removing benefits the people who won't qualify?— people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want _ people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want to _ people who won't qualify? liberal democrats want to see _ people who won't qualify? liberall democrats want to see investment people who won't qualify? liberal- democrats want to see investment in our nhs if people get early treatment, so they can see their gp, so they can get that hospital treatment. that would help people get back to work sooner. the liberal democrats want to see that investment in the nhs so people don't have to wait so long for treatment. about one in seven people say they are having to take significant time off work because they can't get the nhs treatment they can't get the nhs treatment they need. they can't get the nhs treatment the need. .. ., ., they need. reaction there from the liberal democrats. _ reaction there from the liberal democrats. joining me now is our political correspondent ione wells. some headlines out of what we heard from the chancellor, particularly around business investment and that cutting national insurance. let's start with that first of all. the government will be hoping the headline is that they have given as a tax cut. a lot of criticism that is not tax cut —— we are paying more tax overall. is not tax cut -- we are paying more tax overall-— tax overall. this is said in the ho -e tax overall. this is said in the hepe from — tax overall. this is said in the hope from the _ tax overall. this is said in the hope from the government i tax overall. this is said in the l hope from the government that tax overall. this is said in the - hope from the government that people will feel better off and they have done that through a number of measures. 0ne done that through a number of measures. one of which is the cut to the main rate to national insurance from i2% to 10%. also increases to certain wages. the minimum wage going up to £11 44. certainly operating benefits in line with inflation and pensions going up, they hope to help people feel better off but there are concerns raised by opposition parties that this is not going to make people feel better off on the threshold of tax has risen. the thing that mount make welcome reading as the forecasts, focus that economic growth will be sluggish in the years ahead, that inflation will take longer to come down to target and all of that means we will feel worse off along the. that and all of that means we will feel worse off along the.— worse off along the. that is true. there is a — worse off along the. that is true. there is a question _ worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of _ worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of how- worse off along the. that is true. there is a question of how better off we'll people feel in practice. they may be paying less tax, their wages may be going up, but there are other factors, wages may be going up, but there are otherfactors, one of wages may be going up, but there are other factors, one of which wages may be going up, but there are otherfactors, one of which is wages may be going up, but there are other factors, one of which is that inflation is coming down, which is a positive thing that the government has been talking about, it is forecast to continue to go down, but prices are still rising. it is just the rates that they are rising is going down. people are still feeling things are more expensive. another things are more expensive. another thing we have discussed is the threshold at which people start paying different levels of tax, they are currently frozen. even if people's wagers are going up they can still end up paying more tax than they have previously. certainly there are factors meaning people may not necessarily feel like they have a lot more disposable cash right now, although there were heavy hints in the statement that this is the start of potentially more tax cuts that the chancellor is hoping to look at, potentially ahead of a general election at some point next year, but certainly, yes, the calculation from them politically is, what can we do now to make people feel like they have more money in their pay packets. find people feel like they have more money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue. _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it is _ money in their pay packets. and that is the big issue, it is where - is the big issue, it is where politics and economics collide. at the start of next year, whether the chancellor has anything up his sleeve to deliver that would convince us to vote conservative at the next election. what can he pull out of the bag? has the next election. what can he pull out of the bag?— out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation _ out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation about - out of the bag? has certainly been loads of speculation about what i loads of speculation about what other taxes may be on the table to be cut. speculation about whether income tax may be cut, or inheritance tax. these are all things which potentially, if the economy does improve, the chancellor may look at, for example in the spring budget. however at the moment the key theme of this autumn statement in the chancellor's words was trying to incentivise work. that is whether logic behind cutting national insurance was. national insurance is specifically a tax on people's wages. income tax you can pay and other sources of income, for example if you are a landlord. national insurance cuts are supposed to incentivise work and paired with a set of reforms to the welfare system is wealth, as well as operating benefits in line with inflation. the government has also said it will in introduced tougher penalties for people who aren't seem to be looking for work. benefit claimants who don't look for work within six months will face having their benefits cuts as part of this package to try and incentivise people back into work. certainly there could well be more measures coming down the road next year, but i think the approach is to keep this quite staggered and not do everything too soon. we quite staggered and not do everything too soon. we will talk some more _ everything too soon. we will talk some more later— everything too soon. we will talk some more later but _ everything too soon. we will talk some more later but thank - everything too soon. we will talk some more later but thank you l everything too soon. we will talk| some more later but thank you so much for now, our political correspondent with the details on what we heard from the chancellor. let's get the thoughts now paul johnson. did you hear anything that was a great surprise? there is not a huge amount of room for manoeuvre for the chancellor right now, but he has delivered a cut in national insurance. he says he will make the biggest tax cut for business in modern times. what did you make of what he announced this morning? i thought there were two halves to the announcement. 0ne thought there were two halves to the announcement. one was something really focused on long—term growth, so we got that, cutting corporation tax, which is not the biggest cut in corporation tax in history, in the long run. it is actually quite a small cut, but it is a welcome one. and quite a lot of other things aimed at improving productivity and business investment. these are not really very election —related. but on top of that we got clearly what was an election focused cut in national insurance contributions, more than expected, 2p of those, which will increase people's take—home pay from, it looks like january. that was nowhere near enough to offset the very big tax increases that are happening over this parliament in any case. that is because, as you say, there is very limited fiscal room for manoeuvre. let's talk about some of those in more detail. already a lot of criticism that that cutting national insurance has all but been cancelled out by not moving those thresholds at which we start to pay tax, and the overall tax burden being at a 70 year high. is hejust saving a big tax cut for the year when we will face a general election? ., �* ~' year when we will face a general election? ., �* ~ ,., ~ election? i don't think so. i think he has got _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some risks _ election? i don't think so. i think he has got some risks around - election? i don't think so. i think i he has got some risks around being able to keep the one that he has announced. given his own fiscal target, which is a pretty odd one, but he is acting against his own fiscal target and he has very little room for manoeuvre in the risk that he is running is that of course he is dependent on the forecast from the office for budget responsibility. they could as easily get worse by march when he has got the next fiscal event. they could easily get worst by then is get better. if they do get worse he is going to have to find some money from somewhere, either undoing some of those tax cuts. i don't suppose he will do that, or pencilling some more remarkable spending cuts over the next period. it is true that taxes are rising, but there is a reason for that. this government isn't increasing taxes for fun, it isn't increasing taxes for fun, it is increasing because it has got very little choice given the state of the public finances and the level of the public finances and the level of debt. what he has done is offset a very small part of that through the announcements he has made today. one of the things he will be all too aware of is that any big tax cut could ultimately prove expensive, and fuel inflation. inflation, we know, is essentially a tax because it makes us all feel worse off. he has got an eye on that. inflation might have come down from its peak of more than 10% last year, 4.6% now, but getting it back to target will be really ill challenge, get to get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky. that get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky.— get it down to the target of 2%, could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the _ could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the bank - could be pretty tricky. that in the end is the job of the bank of - end is the job of the bank of england. what the government doesn't want to do is make the bank of england'sjob any more want to do is make the bank of england's job any more difficult. i suspect he hasn't made it any more difficult today, despite those tax cuts, because they are relatively small in the context of her two and a half trillion pound economy. again he is not going to be, for that reason as well as his fiscal position, he is not going to be looking at a significant additional tax cut in another budget. don't forget, of course, that the consequence of the fiscal drag in the system, because the chancellor has frozen the point at which people start to pay higher rate tax and any pay income tax at all, that is turning out to be a much bigger tax increase than was previously intended. actually what he announced todayis intended. actually what he announced today is reallyjust offsetting some of that unintended tax increase. paul, always good to talk to. thank you forjoining us with some assessment of what we heard from the chancellor. joining me now is sir steve webb the former liberal democrat pensions minister under the coalition government and partner at pensions consultancy firm, lcp. good to have you with us. pensioners were concerned about the triple lock but the government has promised it will fulfil that pledge. pensions will fulfil that pledge. pensions will go up by eight and a half percent. it will go up by eight and a half ercent. , , ., , percent. it is good news. there was some speculation _ percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that _ percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that they - percent. it is good news. there was some speculation that they might i some speculation that they might fudge the figures in some way, gives a different measure of average earnings, and i think it is good that they have gone for a clear cut linked to the average wage, and likewise, increased efforts by the september inflation figures and fiddling it by using the october one. the chancellor deserves credit for being straightforward, for following the rules, and giving people the full increases. it is important _ people the full increases. it is important for _ people the full increases. it is important for pensioners, of course, because for many of them, about i million, it is their only source of income. they can't earn money elsewhere and so they are wholly dependent on what that state pension pays. dependent on what that state pension .a s, ., �* , dependent on what that state pension as. ~' pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have _ pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt _ pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt the - pays. that's right. i think many pensioners have felt the cost . pays. that's right. i think many| pensioners have felt the cost of living squeeze particularly acutely, because you look at a pensioner�*s budget, it tends to be more heavily spent on things like energy and food bills and there parts of the inflation basket that should have been soaring in recent years. i think it is important to say that, although these increases are welcome, it is not some great bonanza and pensioners are living the life of riley, a lot of this is still catching up with some pretty brutal increases in the of living. i was talking to baroness altman earlier and she was suggesting that the triple lock isn't the best way to run pensions, that there are alternatives and we should be thinking of different ways of making sure that pensioners are looked after, but not something that could be potentially this expensive. what is your view? should there be a better way of doing this to make sure pensioners are looked after, but without such a cost of the public purse? i but without such a cost of the public purse?— but without such a cost of the public purse? i think the point of the trile public purse? i think the point of the triple lock _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to _ public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to get - public purse? i think the point of the triple lock was to get the - public purse? i think the point of. the triple lock was to get the state pension in the uk, which is still relatively low by its national standards, to ratchet it up to a decent level, and by all means, when the triple lock has done its job and take in the state pension to a decent proportion of the average wage then by all means let's change the rules. for 30 years the pension was linked to inflation. 0ne the rules. for 30 years the pension was linked to inflation. one year it went up byjust 75 p. that did a lot of damage to the value of the pension. the triple lo