In her speech, Mrs May scotched speculation that fuel duty could go up for the first time in nearly a decade, saying she was extending the duty freeze for a ninth year in a row, a move costing the Exchequer £800m. Shadow Chancellor Abba has dismissed Theresa May's assertion that austerity is coming to an end, saying the claim "lacked credibility". After the prime minister used her conference speech in Birmingham to signal the UK was on the brink of ending its period of economic restraint, the Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed to severe shortfalls in local council budgets and withdrawal of children's services to contradict her claim. He also referred to a forecast from McDonnell which said that 75% of this nearly a decade 's planned welfare cuts had yet to come into effect.
Shadow Chancellor Abba has dismissed Theresa May's assertion that austerity is coming to an end, saying the claim "lacked credibility". After the prime minister used her conference speech in Birmingham to signal the UK was on the brink of ending its period of economic restraint, the Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed to severe shortfalls in local council budgets and withdrawal of children's services to contradict her claim. He also referred to a forecast from McDonnell which said that 75% of this nearly a decade 's planned welfare cuts had yet to come into effect.