Britain’s new chancellor has warned the country that it will face financial challenges of “eye-watering” difficulty in the days ahead, as he sought to bring stability to the economy.
During an extraordinary day in British politics, Jeremy Hunt attempted to bring stability to the Conservative Party and the economy by introducing tight fiscal measures following a run on the pound and the government debt markets.
The announcements marked a near complete reversal of the policy from Prime Minister Liz Truss, who had authorised an unfunded tax giveaway in her first weeks in office.
Ms Truss had seen her authority openly under question for much of the day and she sat ashen-faced, looking somewhat shell-shocked while Mr Hunt gave his statement.
Her new chancellor said the government needed to “do more, more quickly to reassure the markets” and it had to make decisions of “eye-watering difficulty” if necessary.
“I want to be completely frank about the scale of the economic challenges we face,” he added
His earlier public announcement, brought forward from his Commons statement to reassure the markets, had the wished-for impact, with the pound retaining its gains and the interest on gilts dipping below 4 per cent, a strong indicator for government borrowing costs.
Mr Hunt also announced a new economic advisory council that will include Rupert Harrison, chief of staff to former chancellor George Osborne
As well as reversing the 1p cut to basic income tax, restoring it to 20 per cent, Mr Hunt curtailed the generous energy cap to six months rather than two years.
About 30 minutes into his appearance, to gasps and a few jeers, Ms Truss got up and left. She was not in the chamber to hear the possibility of yet another government U-turn after the new chancellor suggested there could indeed be a windfall tax on energy companies — something she has fought vehemently against.
“I'm not against the principle of taxing profits that are genuine windfalls. Nothing is off the table,” he told MPs.
His opposite number, Rachel Reeves, who welcomed her fourth chancellor of the year, tore into the Conservative economic record that has been eviscerated by Ms Truss’s administration.
“There is lasting damage which these policy U-turns won’t change,” she said. “They set fire to everything, now they insist it is all fine.
“The truth is, an arsonist is still an arsonist, even if he then runs back into the building with a bucket of water.”
It was “ordinary working people” who were paying a “Tory mortgage premium” for years to come, she added.
To glum faces on the benches opposite, she declared the Conservatives were “running out of credibility … and now running out of chancellors”.
Mr Hunt also sought to push back against suggestions that a period of severe austerity was on the cards.
“I was a Cabinet minister in 2010 when we had very difficult decisions to take in the wake of the financial crisis and my department’s budget was cut by 24 per cent and I don’t believe we are talking about anything of that scale,” he said.
“And I think it’s likely that cash spending will continue to go up but, that said, I want to be completely frank with people — we are going to have very difficult decisions both on tax and spending in the next couple of weeks.
“We will try and take those decisions as compassionately as possible, so it’s going to be tough going forward but I don’t expect it to be on a scale that she suggests.”
The Conservatives have suffered a collapse of popular support amid fears of what is to come. The latest poll gave Labour a 36 per cent advantage over the Conservatives, the largest lead for any party since 1997.
More significant for Ms Truss was the revelation that half of those who voted Conservative in 2019 would prefer Mr Starmer as prime minister.
If that poor polling continues, Ms Truss’s tenure will rapidly prove untenable.
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
