Cost-of-living hurricane is coming and all Rishi Sunak does is move the deckchairs

FULL marks to Rishi Sunak for the 5p VAT fuel duty cut urged by The Sun. And a bonus for raising the starting rate for NICs to £12,750 in line with income tax.

That’s where the good news ends. As for the promised 1p off income tax in 2024, believe it when you see it.

The economy is no longer under political control.

This was a Budget of smoke and mirrors Gordon Brown might have been proud of. Firms must still pay the Chancellor’s NIC tax on jobs — plus a big rise soon in business taxes.

Ministers might hail low unemployment, but watch it rise as pay claims rocket.

The Chancellor should have axed his National Insurance hike altogether and found the money elsewhere.

Worryingly, there was nothing in his budget about cutting state spending.

Indeed, Whitehall departments are guaranteed a 3.7 per cent increase!

A cost-of-living hurricane is heading our way and all Rishi has done is shift the deckchairs.

Inflation is set to break through ten per cent and perhaps much, much higher.

Once this monster is loose, it is painfully hard to rein in. Interest rates will soar. So will mortgages, pensions and welfare benefits.

This is the birth of a vicious wage-price spiral with public sector unions demanding inflation beating rises.

Those claims will be unaffordable. Employers will either shed workers or go bust.

None of this may be the fault of Chancellor Sunak.

But he and Boris Johnson will get the blame.