This week on IFS Zooms In, host Helen Miller is joined by IFS economists Ben Zaranko and Christine Farquharson to unpack one of the biggest Autumn Budgets in years. With seventy-five policy measures, major tax and spending changes, and a striking shift in the economic forecasts, this was a Budget that surprised almost everyone.

Helen, Ben and Christine break down:

• Why the expected “fiscal repair job” never arrived
• How a “lucky” surge in forecast tax receipts reshaped the Chancellor’s options
• The major spending stories: abolishing the two-child limit, rising welfare pressures, SEND funding reform, and tighter departmental plans
• The government’s tax decisions - from threshold freezes to the new ‘mansion tax’
• Whether any of this adds up to a credible long-term strategy for growth

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