However, she warned MPs on the Commons Treasury committee that the economy would remain sluggish, saying: “I would expect relatively flat GDP in the UK over the next couple of years, as the impact of past increases in bank rate increasingly push down on demand, and supply remains very weak.”because of the triple lock on the state pension – meaning Jeremy Hunt must commit up to £2bn more to pay for it.
Experts suggested that the Bank of England was set to raise interest rates to 5.5 per cent next week in light of the updated data from the Office for National Statistics. Mr Hunt said: “It’s heartening to see the number of employees on payroll is still close to record highs and that our unemployment rate remains below many of our international peers. Wage growth remains high, partly reflecting one-off payments to public sector workers, but for real wages to grow sustainably we must stick to our plan to halve inflation.”