Rishi Sunak faced calls last night to forgo tax rises and focus on investment as he prepared to outline his one-year spending review amid dire public finances.
The Institute of Directors said entrepreneurs needed a “shot in the arm” and the chancellor’s priority should be “infrastructure, skills and productivity” to boost the economy, rather than reducing public debt.
Sunak, who is set to freeze public sector pay, intends to start a national infrastructure bank, based in northern England, to invest alongside the private sector and “build back better and greener”.
His spending review on Wednesday will come alongside updated forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility for the economy’s fortunes in the face of Covid-19.
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