Chancellor delivers Autumn Statement in the tone of a dad telling his children Tufty the pet hamster is no more
As he rose to deliver his first Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt’s immaculate white shirt and exquisitely brushed hair rivalled even those of his predecessor and now boss, Rishi Sunak.
There was the same faintly sanctimonious whiff of virtue and rectitude, the same impression of both chaps being every mother’s ideal son-in-law. The PM nodded energetically in the background as Hunt launched into his spiel in accomplished, if workmanlike, fashion.
He began with an unmistakable hint that managed decline was on its way – a list of countries faring even worse than Britain.
Sir Humphrey-ish euphemisms abounded. Inevitable recessions were recast as “shallower downturns”, council tax increases as “flexibilities” – and people were merely being “asked” to pay more tax.