Spring Statement 2022 – Live reaction & analysis as Rishi Sunak slashes fuel duty & National Insurance in mini budget

Good news for drinkers

The price of booze WON’T change again, so you won’t be paying more for a pint of beer or glass of wine.

Rishi didn’t say anything about it in his Spring Statement speech, but documents published after reveal there will be no tax hikes on alcohol.

Everything announced in Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement today

The Chancellor has announced extra help for millions of Brits struggling with the cost of living crisis, including:

How much will the fuel duty cut save you?

Here’s more on the fuel duty cut in documents published by the Treasury:

Of course how much you can save will depend on the car your drive, how often you fill up and the price you pay for petrol near you.

Income tax CUT

The chancellor has announced he will CUT income tax in a huge boost for workers – but it won’t come into force for TWO years.

It means the basic rate of income tax will cut from 20p to 19p in the pound – and will affect 30 million Brits.

He has long been rumoured to be looking at an income tax cut in future – but only after he’s balanced the books after racking up billions of pounds worth of debt.

Here’s more on the tax cut plans for 2024.

Millions of workers dodge National Insurance tax hike

Rishi Sunak has handed Brits a boost as he softened the blow to low income families from next month’s National Insurance hike.

The Chancellor announced the earnings threshold at which people start paying the new health tax will be raised from £9,500 to £12,500.

It means hundreds of thousands of families will pay less – and some of the very lowest earners will dodge the extra charge altogether.

The move also brings the NI threshold into line with the point at which Brits start paying income tax, which stands at £12,500.

Mr Sunak said that it would be “a tax cut for employees worth over £330 a year”.

Here’s more on the change.

Household Support Fund cash

The Household Support Fund was launched in October to help Brits pay their way through winter amid a cost of living crisis.

The government announced a total of £500million would be dished out across all councils – but the cash had to be divvied out by March 31, 2022.

But new cash will be available – just as bills rise for millions of Brits.

Here’s more on the bills help and how you’ll be able to get it.

Fuel duty cut from TONIGHT

The cut to fuel duty of 5p per litre will apply from 6pm this evening.

It comes as petrol prices have soared to new record highs, with a litre of unleaded now costing 167.3p and diesel 179.7p, according to the RAC.

Low income households will be able to get extra help from councils as Rishi Sunak announced the Household Support Fund will double.

This is a pot of cash that’s been given out to local councils, and anyone struggling can apply for the help with essentials like food and bills.

VAT on home energy improvements slashed

As we reported earlier, the Chancellor has slashed VAT on insulation.

Mr Sunak said: “I can announce for the next five years homeowners having materials like solar panels, heat pumps, or insulation installed will no longer pay 5% VAT– they will pay zero.

“We’ll also reverse the EU’s decision to take wind and water turbines out of scope – and zero rate them as well. And we’ll abolish all the red tape imposed by the EU.

“A family having a solar panel installed will see tax savings worth over £1,000. And savings on their energy bill of over £300 per year.”

Read more here…

Cheaper petrol prices for millions of motorists

Drivers will see prices at the petrol pumps fall after Rishi Sunak announced he will slash fuel duty by 5p today.

In a major victory for The Sun’s Keep it Down Campaign, the Chancellor pledged to cut the hated levy, which makes up 57.95p of every litre of fuel you buy.

Read more on what the fuel duty cut means for you here.

A cut to fuel duty

For only the second time in 20 years, fuel duty will be cut by 5p per litre, Mr Sunak has announced.

It’s good news for millions of motorists facing record fuel prices.

‘Not cost free for us at home’

Mr Sunak continued: “The actions we have taken to sanction Putin’s regime are not cost free for us at home.

“The invasion of Ukraine presents a risk to our recovery – as it does to countries around the world.

“We came into this crisis with our economy growing faster than expected… …with the UK having the highest growth in the G7 last year.

“But the OBR has said specifically: “There is unusually high uncertainty around the outlook.”

Here we go…

Rishi Sunak has started his Spring Statement speech talking about Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Mr Sunak said: “Be in no doubt: these sanctions, coordinated with our allies, are working. The Russian Rouble plummeted to record lows.

“The Moscow stock exchange has been largely suspended for a month. And the Central Bank of Russia has been forced to impose capital controls and more than double interest rates to 20%.

“We warned that an aggressive, unprovoked invasion would be met with severe economic costs – and it has.

“I’m proud to say – as the whole House will say: We stand with Ukraine.”

How long will Rishi Sunak speak for?

The longest continuous Budget speech was by William Gladstone on 18 April 1853, lasting 4 hours and 45 minutes.

Benjamin Disraeli’s 1867 Budget speech lasted only 45 minutes.

Technically this is a Spring Statement and not a full Budget, but let’s hope it’s somewhere in between…

What will Rishi Sunak announce in his Spring Statement?

Here’s a reminder of what we’re expecting from the chancellor shortly, from our political editor Harry Cole:

Can the Chancellor drink alcohol during the Budget speech?

Yes, but you won’t see Rishi Sunak taking a sip.

That’s because he’s teetotal and doesn’t drink alcohol.

According to the Parliament website previous Chancellors have enjoyed a tipple though:

• whisky for Kenneth Clarke
• gin and tonic for Geoffrey Howe
• brandy and water for Benjamin Disraeli
• sherry and beaten egg for Gladstone
• spritzer for Nigel Lawson
• Gordon Brown chose to drink mineral water
• Alistair Darling and George Osborne also drank water

What to read next…

Here’s everything you need to know so far:

Is Rishi scrapping VAT?

On insulation, he could.

Rishi Sunak is set to scrap VAT on home insulation to drive down bills, sources tell The Sun’s politics team.

The price of wall, floor or loft installation will be slashed in a fresh bid to encourage people to upgrade their homes to stop heat escaping.

More than 19million homes are rated band D or below for energy efficiency, meaning their leaky properties don’t hold heat well enough and people are forced to whack up their heating for longer.

Some four million properties are in need of cavity wall insulation and 5.5million need it in their lofts, according to research from the Conservative Environment Network.

This could help people save some money on bills in two ways, our political and environment correspondent Natasha Clark tweets:

What do Sun readers want from the Spring Statement?

Adrian, 33, from South Normanton, Derbyshire says: “Rishi should come to an ex-mining community like ours and see how things are.

“People are struggling everywhere. Fuel duty coming down will help.

“It’d be great to see more money pumped into the NHS but he should postpone the 1.25 per cent National Insurance rise until next year.”

Louise Maddison, 50, faces a stark choice between eating and heating as her money runs out at the end of each month.

She said: “A rise in Universal Credit is essential. Where else will people find the money?”

And mum-of-three Jodi Westmacott and partner Claire Simmons work full-time and need two cars, spending £100 a week on petrol.

The Newport pair want fuel duty cut by more than 5p.

Others are wanting help for fuel bills and a wage boost – here’s what they told The Sun.

Who is Rishi Sunak?

Rishi Sunak is one of the youngest MPs to ever hold the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

He was elevated to one of the top jobs in Parliament in February 2020.

It was just four weeks before a Budget was due to be delivered (previous holder of the position Sajid Javid resigned) but that was soon the smallest problem on his plate.

Within weeks the country had gone into lockdown because of coronavirus.

His handling of the economy during the pandemic has earned him the label of next Prime Minister among some in politics.

Here’s everything you need to know about the “superstar” (as former chancellor George Osborne called him).

‘Brink of a personal finance precipice’

Martin Lewis has called on the Chancellor to act to help millions of Brits struggling with rising bills.

The money saving expert and campaigner said in a tweet directed at Rishi that the country is “on the brink of a personal finance precipice”

He urged the chancellor: “Today you, only you, have the tools to pull it back. To save lives. To improve living standards. To reduce millions’ anxiety This is what builds a legacy and makes a great Chancellor. Pls seize the chance.”

In recent weeks Martin has been brought nearly to tears as he’s been unable to help many people with rocketing energy bills.

At the weekend he said that he was almost out of tools to help hard-up households.

Here’s why energy bills are going up plus some things you CAN do now before bills rise next week.

Petrol prices

The cost of fuel has shot up in recent months and millions of drivers are hoping that the Chancellor will ease the pain of filling up at the pumps.

That could come in the form of a fuel duty cut of 5p.

Our political and environment correspondent Natasha Clark tweets that they have hit another record high: