British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced during the budget presentation that the British government would invest 94 billion pounds (107.7 billion euros) over two years to increase purchasing power. This announcement coincided with the day of the strike over the high cost of living.
Contrary to previous predictions, Hunt told parliament that the UK would not fall into a “technical recession this year”.
The minister said the UK economy will contract by 0.2% this year due to weak activity in the first quarter, based on new forecasts from the OBR, the public forecasting body.
The usual definition of a recession consists of at least two consecutive quarters of contraction in gross domestic product.
He emphatically said in Parliament: “The British economy contradicts those who question it.”
The Office of the Budget in November had estimated in November that the country’s economy would decline by 1.4% this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also estimated in January that the UK will be the only major economy to enter recession this year, with GDP expected to contract by 0.6%.
In response to inflation pressures that exceeded 10%, the government announced on Wednesday that it would extend for three months the cap on energy prices for homes.
– “10% now!” –
The finance minister added that, according to forecasts by the Balance Sheet Office, inflation, which is undermining the purchasing power of Britons, will rise “from 10.7% in the fourth quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023.”
Hunt said in a speech highlighting energy subsidies and subsidies for day care centers in a country with one of the “most expensive systems in the world.”
The government is considering applying tax incentives to establish nurseries and increase job vacancies.
“For many women, a break in their career means the end of their career,” admitted the minister.
Coinciding with Hunt’s speech to parliament, hundreds of employees walked into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office chanting “What do we want? 10%! When? Now”, referring to wage adjustment by inflation.
Wednesday’s strike called on teachers, subway workers, doctors and civil servants to demand higher wages in response to the inflation crisis.
Many workers also protested about working conditions, security and pensions.
Among the groups mobilized were academics, BBC journalists and railway employees.
In London, the Underground was virtually idle due to the conductors’ strike.
Hospital doctors, in turn, have been mobilized since Monday (13).
Civil servants are also participating in the protest.
The country is experiencing an “incredible wave of activity,” said Ben Melis, 25, director of public administration projects.
“The prices of everything have gone up a lot, and this is the longest period of wage freeze (…) because there are wage records,” he told AFP, amid a demonstration in which whistles and drums were raised.
He concluded, “I think people are starting to feel that something has to change and that we have to organize ourselves.”
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