Diolch. Last week, the UK Government published its long-awaited autumn statement and the Office for Budget Responsibility published its forecasts indicating that we are facing the biggest fall in living standards since records began. This was a bleak statement from the Chancellor after 12 years of Conservative Government, published in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget, alongside an even bleaker economic outlook from the OBR.

Multi-year extensions to freezes to both income tax and national insurance thresholds mean that we will all be asked to pay more in taxes, increasing the tax burden to its highest level in 70 years, at a time when inflation is at its highest level in more than four decades, and we are entering what both the OBR and the Bank of England believe will be a lengthy recession. GDP is expected to shrink by 2 per cent, which will result in real and significant costs for people across the country, and the rate of unemployment is expected to increase substantially. This could result in 20,000 to 25,000 more people out of work in Wales alone. Perhaps most shocking of all is the fall in real disposable household incomes. Over the next two years, this is expected to fall by 7 per cent per person. This would be the biggest fall in history.