Budgeting for Britain: What the Budget and Spending Review tell us about the Government’s economic strategy

Rishi Sunak has had to make a flurry of major fiscal announcements during his 18-months as Chancellor amidst the Covid-19 crisis. At last, with the worse of the crisis behind us, he will hope to be able to set-out an economic plan for post-pandemic Britain in his Budget and Spending Review next Wednesday. However, with inflation and Covid cases rising again, the tough decisions he’ll need to make are far from over and uncertainty about the future path of the economy remains high.

What is the economic outlook for Britain? How has it shaped the Chancellor’s policy choices and his response to the cost of living crunch? What does the Budget and Spending Review reveal about the kind of Chancellor Rishi Sunak wants to be – or the kind of Government Boris Johnson wants to lead? How has he traded-off competing priorities, from delivering public services, to levelling up the country and investing in our net zero transition? And does the package of measures add up to a proper economic plan for post-pandemic Britain?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of the Budget, we’ll hear from the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes and leading economist Linda Yueh on their reflections on the Budget and Spending Review.

Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-boris-budget/