What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Britain's poorest families are set to be £745 a year worse off thanks to brutal Tory policies since 2015, experts revealed today.

In contrast, the richest third of families are forecast to pocket an average gain of £140 a year, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.

Projected real household incomes are a staggering £1,400 a year lower than forecast in March 2016, three months before the Brexit referendum.

Foundation director Torsten Bell said: “The end of the tunnel is still a decade away, and significant obstacles remain before the final destination is reached.”

A separate analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggested tax rises worth at least £30billion a year will be needed if the Government is to protect public spending and balance the books by the middle of the next decade.

Official forecasts revealed in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Statement said growth would average 1.4% a year, with a slightly better performance in 2018 matched by weaker predictions for 2021 and 2022, with growth expectations slashed by 0.1 points to 1.4% and 1.5% respectively.

(Image: Getty)

Just to avoid spending falling as a fraction of national income beyond 2019-20, Mr Hammond would need to find an additional £14billion a year compared with current plans by 2022-23, the IFS said.

However, if the Chancellor wants to eliminate the deficit by the mid-2020s he would need to an extra £18billion through tax hikes or spending cuts.

“Put these two together and on current forecasts just keeping spending constant as a fraction of national income beyond 2019-20 and reaching budget balance by the mid-2020s would require tax rises of £30billion a year,” said think tank chief Paul Johnson said.

“And that’s before additional demographic pressures which could add another £11billion a year to the money the Government would need to find from somewhere in 2025 if it wants to cover the additional demands for health, pension and social care spending.”

Mr Johnson highlighted eight years of Tory austerity as he outlined the analysts’ response to the Chancellor’s statement.

(Image: AFP)

“The period since 2010 has been completely unprecedented in the scale of cuts imposed,” he said.

“Many of the public services are struggling in a way that they were not two or three years ago.

“Safety in prisons is being compromised, the NHS is visibly failing to cope as well as it was, local government - having done a remarkable job of coping with cuts – is showing the strain.”

Britain is £300billion worse off because of the 2008 economic crash - with the financial crisis depriving every man, woman and child of £5,900 over the lost decade.

Mr Johnson said: “We have had the worst decade of growth since at least the last War.

“The economy is at least £300billion smaller than we might have expected based on 2008 forecasts.”