Spring Statement 2022: Expect shouts of 'is that it?' from investment industry

'Consumers take the pain'

The investment industry has provided a mixed reaction to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement, with some commentators welcoming policies focused on the cost of living crisis and tax cuts, and others asking why the UK Government has not promised to do more.

Cost of living crisis Vivek Paul, UK chief investment strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute, said the statement sought to balance "the need to be seen to tackle the UK's cost of living crisis with the desire to re-establish economic credibility with the electorate," while seeking optionality to deliver "crowd-pleasing tax cuts, which were explicitly flagged, ahead of a general election within two years." But the policies announced by Rishi Sunak will not do enough to appease people facing rising living costs, according to Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at interact...