CLES reacts to the UK Autumn Budget 2025

Dr Tom Lloyd Goodwin, Deputy Chief Executive of CLES, said: 

“This was a politically tricky Budget because the Chancellor had tied her own hands with the government’s manifesto. But she’s made sensible calls to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty by ending the two-child benefit cap, narrowing the gap between income on wealth and work, and putting more money into the NHS. However, this does not undo the damage done by years of austerity, nor does it mitigate the risk that many local councils still face bankruptcy.

“New public investments are welcome but the how it’s spent, who we spend it with and who benefits will be key to ensuring that the outputs of our economy benefit all. Public money needs to work hard for people and not repeat the mistakes of the past that sees public investment leak out of the system in profits in droves.

 “People have less and less in their pocket at the end of the month, and the government’s focus on ‘growth’ isn’t matching with people’s realities. The Chancellor should mature her economic mission – focussing on who benefits from the creation, as well as the outcomes, of growth – putting wages, affordability, deprivation and the planet we all share front and centre of her fiscal decisions”. 

ENDS