Britain’s finance minister will unveil a cost‑of‑living budget on Wednesday as the government strives to maintain control over public spending amid a fresh wave of pay‑related strikes. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will present his tax and spending plan to Parliament from 12:30 GMT, while teachers, junior doctors, civil servants, BBC journalists and London Underground drivers stage another day of mass walkouts. Public and private‑sector workers show little sign of ending the strike action that began last year when soaring inflation eroded wages.
Ahead of the budget, Hunt has signalled increased childcare funding and proposals to encourage Britons over 50 to re‑enter the labour market. The government is also expected to confirm plans to entice those who have left the workforce back to work, aiming to fill 1.1 million staff vacancies—partly a result of a shortage of EU workers after Brexit and a record number of people classified as long‑term sick. Reports suggest Hunt could allow workers to put more tax‑free money into their private pensions. “Reports of senior doctors retiring early due to the impact of pension tax allowances… have undoubtedly been of particular concern to the government given the pressures already on the health system following the pandemic,” said Tom Selby, head of retirement policy at AJ Bell. “However, both the lifetime and annual allowance apply across all types of private pensions and so this announcement would increase the retirement savings limits for millions of Brits.”
In neighbouring France, the Senate voted over the weekend to approve a deeply unpopular reform to the country’s pension system, raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64—a move many view as unfair to those who started working young. Britain’s retirement age of 66 is also set to increase before the end of the decade, meaning a longer wait to access the state pension, although private pensions are available earlier.
Health staff are also protesting over‑work caused by labour shortages, with doctors below consultant level among the hundreds of thousands expected to strike on Wednesday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said the Conservative government wants to work with unions to achieve “fair and reasonable” pay rises, but added, “We’ve been clear that we want to see strike action end before we do so.” Thousands of public and private‑sector workers have been striking for months as wage increases fail to keep pace with UK inflation, which remains above 10 percent. As millions of Britons endure a cost‑of‑living crisis, the government has subsidised soaring energy bills, but some of that support is expected to end next month. Economists say Wednesday’s budget may offer fresh assistance, especially after the government recorded a stronger surplus than expected in January and the country avoided recession last year.
As is customary with recent UK budgets, the government has already hinted at several announcements to be included in Hunt’s statement. On Monday, Britain detailed plans to boost military and security spending to confront the “epoch‑defining challenge” posed by China while also countering Russia. The plan includes an extra £5 billion ($6.1 billion) for defence over the next two years, focused on nuclear resilience and replenishing depleted ammunition stocks. On Friday, Britain announced a 20‑year strategy to capture carbon and commit to nuclear energy as it strengthens energy supplies and pursues a net‑zero economy by mid‑century. Hunt said the move would help avoid a repeat of rocketing energy bills since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine tightened global supplies.
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