It was a busy morning today as reaction to the chancellor’s autumn statement emerged. Here are all the key points: The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a leading thinktank, said in a briefing that the key takeaway from the autumn statement was that the UK had got “a whole lot poorer” after a “series of economic own goals” by the Conservatives, and because of the “extraordinary scale” of spending on debt interest due to high borrowing in recent years, combined with sluggish long-term growth and the pressures of an ageing population. The IFS director, Paul Johnson, said the tax burden was unlikely to go back to pre-Covid levels for decades, and that threshold freezes meant the country was in a “new era” of high taxation and high public spending. He added that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, had done “the minimum he needed to regain credibility” following the disastrous mini-budget of his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng. In the morning, broadcasters grilled Hunt about his decision not to abolish the non-dom tax loophole. He defended the move as encouraging the super-rich to stay and continue to spend their money in the UK, which he suggested was good for the economy. Labour accused the chancellor and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak – whose wife is a non-dom – of shielding the super-rich from paying their fair share of taxes. Hunt also said it had been a “difficult” decision to delay the social care cap, but said that he had to do it for the country. Hunt also conceded to broadcasters that Brexit had harmed the economy and said the UK needed “unfettered trade” with the European Union. The latest Ipsos Political Monitor, taken 9-16 November shows the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, would be preferred as chancellor to Hunt, as high levels of economic pessimism persist and Labour retains a healthy poll lead over the Conservatives. The Resolution Foundation, another leading thinktank, said that Britain’s workers would miss out on pay rises worth £15,000 over the next five years as the chancellor’s tax-heavy budget pressured the nation’s “squeezed middle”. Its research director said Hunt’s cuts did not appear achievable, and that unprotected departments would face George Osborne-style “2014-15 levels of austerity”. Thanks for following the blog today, we’re closing for the evening but will reopen again on Monday morning. Have a wonderful weekend.