As with any Chancellor, Rishi Sunak had two goals, the financial and the political.

But as the dust begins to settle on his Wednesday spring statement it seems that he was not successful in either.

For Mr Sunak this week those goals were supporting family budgets and assuring Conservative MPs that he will cut taxes tomorrow.

But the living standards think tank Resolution Foundation concluded that he was not successful in either goal.

The positive measures of fuel duty cuts and National Insurance pay benefits, the Foundation says, were superseded by previously announced tax rises taking effect and the fact that the Chancellor announced no new targeted support for low to middle income households.

Having crunched the figures overnight the Foundation says the overall results of the measures will mean typical household incomes falling by £1000 next year.

Resolution Foundation a chief executive Torsten Bell, tweeted: “Huge income falls for poorer households, driven by the delay in ensuring benefits keep up with prices, mean 1.3 million people will fall into absolute poverty next year - including 500,000 children – this NEVER happens outside of recessions.”

Treasury minister Simon Clarke moved to meet the criticism on Thursday by suggesting benefit increases in 2023 will be linked to soaring inflation, with the triple-lock also “in place” for pensions. Simon Clarke told MPs high inflation “will be reflected” in the uprating figures for April 2023 if the current forecasts come to fruition.

Meanwhile another of Mr Sunak’s Conservative colleagues warned that future tax cuts “will come too late”.

For despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing he intends to lower the basic rate of income tax to 19% by May 2024, forecasts show the UK is still heading for its highest tax burden since the late 1940s.

And the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned living standards face their biggest fall in a single year since records began in the mid-1950s.

Conservative MP Richard Drax urged the Treasury to “go further”, as “lower taxes generate more cash”.

The MP for South Dorset was speaking on Thursday as the Commons debated the National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill.

The Bill will change the thresholds at which UK workers will pay national insurance. The starting thresholds will rise to £12,570 from July, aligning income tax and national insurance in a tax cut worth more than £6 billion, according to the Treasury.

The Government previously announced that a UK-wide 1.25 percentage point health and social care levy based on national insurance contributions will be introduced from April 6, ring-fenced for health and social care.

Mr Drax warned: “We have deep pockets of deprivation and poverty, and I fear that despite the generous moves by the Chancellor and the tinkering that he has done haven’t gone far enough.”

He added: “I welcome the Chancellor’s talk of more tax cuts to come, but in my humble opinion, and certainly for my constituents for the reasons I’ve stated, they will come too late,” he said.

Opposition politicians stepped up their attacks on Mr Sunak, suggesting he was out of touch with the lives of ordinary people.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Christine Jardine MP described the statement as Mr Sunak’s ‘let them eat cake moment.

She said: “Rishi Sunak has shown just how out of touch he is with the British people. The Sunak household clearly has bread to spare, but for families struggling to make ends meet the Chancellor has only offered crumbs.”

Early opinion polls also do not make good reading for Mr Sunak. Pollster Opinium found that 26pc of those surveyed approved of the spring statement while 48pc disapproved. This net figure of minus 22pc compared with a 6pc plus figure after the Budget last March when 41pc approved and 35pc were against.