Leaders | Britain’s economy

The best ways to fix Britain’s budget

Controlling pensions spending and taxing property are the right answers

A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt during Sunak's first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons in London on October 26, 2022. - In his first full day as Britain's prime minister, Rishi Sunak on Wednesday delayed a crunch budget and rebuffed renewed demands for an early general election as he began trying to rebuild the Conservatives' poll standing. (Photo by JESSICA TAYLOR / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO USE FOR ENTERTAINMENT, SATIRICAL, ADVERTISING PURPOSES - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / Jessica Taylor /UK Parliament" (Photo by JESSICA TAYLOR/AFP via Getty Images)

On November 17th Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s chancellor, will unveil the most austere tax-and-spending measures since 2010. The tightening could be worth nearly £55bn per year ($62bn, 2.5% of GDP)—or about a billion pounds for each day since Liz Truss’s disastrous government lost the confidence of financial markets by promising huge unfunded tax cuts. To regain credibility, Britain must now ensure that its debt-to-GDP ratio starts falling within five years.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “How to fix a budget in 55 days”

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