Philip Hammond: there is light at the end of the tunnel for UK debt

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the UK’s public finances, Philip Hammond has said, while strongly indicating that his financial statement this week is unlikely to herald any significant reduction in austerity.

In his statement on Tuesday, which will bring no changes to tax or spending, the budget having been moved to autumn, the chancellor will set out the latest financial and debt figures. It has been reported that he will give a more upbeat assessment.

On Sunday Hammond said that although government debt was forecast to start falling, people should not expect an immediate loosening of the purse strings.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel, because what we’re about to see is debt starting to fall, after it’s been growing for 17 continuous years. That’s a very important moment for us,” he told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.

“But we are still in the tunnel at the moment. We have to get debt down. We’ve got all sorts of other things we want to do. We’ve taken a balanced approach over the last couple of fiscal events, using the flexibility we had to continue paying down debt but also to provide additional support to our public services.”

Source: theguardian