Austerity cuts could be as deep as 2010, experts warn as energy bills set to hit £5,000

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt leading push for ‘austerity season two’, says Labour

Spending cuts ahead could be as deep as those seen during the Tory austerity programme which followed the 2008-09 banking crash, economists have warned.

It comes as Labour accused Lis Truss’s new chancellor Jeremy Hunt of leading the push for “austerity season two”, as he looks to balance the books after the disastrous mini-Budget.

And experts have warned that families face annual household energy bills of £5,000 from April after the government’s U-turn on the promise of two years of support.