Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Britons on Thursday he was “on your side”, vowing to build a high-growth, low-tax economy where everyone could buy their own home, in his latest attempt at a reset after surviving a major revolt against his leadership.

In a wide-ranging speech, the Conservative leader vowed to tackle the soaring cost of living and address long-standing problems such as unaffordable childcare.

But many economists were doubtful about Boris’s promises, with official forecasters saying tax revenue is on course to rise to the highest level since the 1940s and growth set to disappear.

Boris warned the British public there was no quick fix to the economic instability stoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but that his government would use “fiscal firepower” to help ease the cost-of-living crisis.

He argued that growth and a high-wage economy would alleviate the pain of inflation in Britain, which, according to the British Chambers of Commerce and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is heading for stagnation.

In a speech to an audience in the northwestern town of Blackpool, Boris said the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine would abate over time, but in the meantime his government would act to try to ease the cost-of-living crunch.

However, simply increasing spending or wages is no panacea as this might fuel further price rises, he said, a change of tack for a Prime Minister who has often thrown money at challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic. “We must deal with the here and now, we’ve got to recognise that there are pressures on household budgets that for some will prove simply unaffordable,” he said. “So this government is on the side of the British public in coping with those pressures.”