London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Chancellor's 'Britain needs you' plea to the retired may be a tall order

Chancellor's 'Britain needs you' plea to the retired may be a tall order

Sky's Paul Kelso writes that employers are likely to have been left disappointed by Mr Hunt's approach to their priorities - and with little doubt that their pleas for more overseas labour will go unanswered.
Jeremy Hunt became chancellor because he was the most sensible candidate left standing in the wake of Liz Truss's catastrophic mini-budget.

Four months on, he's earned praise for balancing the books but still had a blank space to fill in when it comes to growth - a crucial plank of economic policy in danger of becoming a dirty word after Truss pursued it over a cliff edge.

The economic circumstances remain deeply challenging, with inflation running above 10%, interest rates on the rise and public sector workers demanding pay rises while business and Conservative backbenchers want tax cuts to incentivise investment.

Two months before his first budget, the chancellor was not about to blow a reputation for rectitude by announcing detailed new policy.

Instead, we got a speech that, in tone if not style, could have been delivered by Boris Johnson, recasting the economic challenge as a debate between optimists and pessimists.

Brexit, Mr Hunt said, remains the opportunity on which future prosperity will be based, despite the myriad challenges reported by businesses at the sharp end.

He had statistics to prove it. Britain has performed "about as well" as Germany since 2016 and better than Japan, Italy and France on one measure of GDP since 2010.

Asked by Sky News whether it would be more honest to acknowledge that Brexit had failed to live up to promises, he said no.

"It's a big change in our economic relations with our closest neighbours and of course that is going to need adaptation," he said.

"Of course there is some short-term disruption, but I think it's completely wrong to just focus on that without looking at the opportunities."

Anyone denying the UK was well-placed to thrive was peddling "declinism", a characterisation with echoes of Johnson's "gloomsters" that channelled the crudest divisions of the referendum debate.

Those guilty, Mr Hunt said, include newspaper columnists on the left and right, and the Labour Party.

Judging by conversations in the margins of his speech, he also blames a number of Britain's largest employers, who have called for more business-friendly government policy.

For the backbenchers who have lobbied hard for tax cuts despite the recent trauma of Truss' unfunded giveaway, there was a clear message.

"The best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation," he said.

That means do not expect much in March.

For the audience in the room, entrepreneurs and investors in the new technologies, life sciences and advanced manufacturing crucial to delivering growth, the message was delivered with a broad brush.

He said enterprise and education were priorities, pointing to the natural advantages of the City of London and the brains trust of the UK's world-leading universities.

New investment worth up to £100bn would be unlocked when reforms to EU-era regulation governing the reserves held by insurance companies are finally passed "in the coming months", he said.

The chancellor did not deny that the economy faces challenges, referring to the "productivity puzzle" that has seen output still not recover to pre-pandemic levels.

He said increasing employment was the key, highlighting a shortage of workers that many businesses blame on new Brexit immigration controls.

Mr Hunt preferred to focus on the growth of "economic inactivity" - those of working age who are not in work, by choice or through illness.

Around one-in-five 16-64 year olds currently meet that definition, 6.6 million people once students are removed from the figures.

Mr Hunt promised help to get the long-term sick back to work and then made a striking direct appeal to retirees: "To those who retired early after the pandemic, or haven't found the right role after furlough, I say - Britain needs you."

Persuading those who don't need to work to come back to the daily grind may be a tall order.

Whether you're an optimist or pessimist, economic reality will have the last word.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×