Statement offers ‘a balanced plan for stability, growth and public services’, says Hunt

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered the autumn statement, announcing a range of tax rises and spending cuts.

The headline proposals are:

• The threshold for when the highest earners start paying the top rate of income tax will be brought down from £150,000 to £125,140
• The household annual energy bill cap will rise to £3,000 in the spring, from the current £2,500 cap
• A Windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms will increase from 25% to 35% and extended until March 2028
• Means-tested benefits and pensions will rise in line with inflation

Hunt hailed the new proposals as “a balanced plan for stability, growth and public services”. He added: “It shows that you don’t need to choose either a strong economy or good public services. With conservatives, and only with conservatives, you get both”