Unfunded tax cuts mean UK ‘will need £60bn spending cuts’

IFS says Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget will leave ministers making serious reductions in public services

Kwasi Kwarteng will need to find 60bn of savings by 2026 to fill the gap left by unfunded tax cuts and the costs of extra borrowing triggered by a panicked reaction on international money markets to the chancellor's mini-budget", according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The UK will also struggle to hit the chancellor's 2.5% growth target, with economic forecasts by the investment bank Citigroup that the IFS uses to underpin its analysis showing the UK will struggle to grow at more than 0.8% on average over the next five years.