Letters: What about Qatar’s Christians?

More turmoil

Sir: The comparisons made by Kate Andrews between the post-2008 settlement and the ‘Austerity 2.0’ Budget last week seem accurate and this is likely to have wider consequences (‘The squeeze’, 19 November). The failure of growth and perceived lack of care for many in society post-2008 undoubtedly contributed to Brexit and the increased bifurcation of the electorate. Jeremy Hunt now appears to wish to add to intergenerational inequality by keeping the triple lock.

Trussism clearly failed at the point of prosecution, but at least it represented a new approach. The Sunak/Hunt answer, which makes no acknowledgement of the sacrifices made by the young during Covid, will produce more of the political turmoil we have experienced in the last decade. 

Ben Reavley

Balham, London

Squeezed millennials

Sir: The disingenuous waffle from Mr Hunt about hard choices in his Autumn Statement is insulting to those under 50 who have supported the Conservatives these past 12 years. In an attempt to repair his party’s mismanagement of the nation’s economy, Hunt is shackling millennial aspirations. The aim seems to be to keep interest rates low, house prices high, the out-of-work inactive and pensioners wealthy.

It’s not that we don’t understand hard choices need to be made. We are a poorer country now, and that cost must be borne by somebody. What sticks in the craw is the selective nature of this ‘austerity’, with the only group facing cuts being those in full-time work. A prudent economic strategy may have involved structural reform, monetary tightening and fiscal moderation. What we have instead is a direct transfer of wealth from younger workers to the government’s chosen client demographics in a cynical attempt to claw on to power. Gordon Brown would be proud.

As a university-educated millennial in full-time work, recently moved into the higher-rate tax band, people like me are needed to generate the wealth and economic growth needed to get out of the mess Mr Sunak created with his index-linked debt splurge.