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LONDON — U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delayed a planned statement setting out how the government will fill a £40 billion hole in its finances until November 17.
Hunt had been due to deliver the plan this coming Monday, and was expected to unveil a host of tax and spending changes alongside an economic forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) after weeks of economic turmoil in the U.K.
But the chancellor, who has been kept in post by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said on Wednesday morning it was important for the statement to be based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and that it was “prudent” to change the date. It will be upgraded to a full autumn statement, he said, referring to the process by which the U.K. government usually sets out its fiscal plans.
Hunt told broadcasters it was important the “difficult decisions” he and Sunak now make “are the right ones, decisions that stand the test of time and do the right thing for people at home who are worried about their mortgages, their jobs, the cost of living, the bills and so on.”
It marks the latest shift in timing for the economic statement, which was initially promised by Hunt’s predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng for November 23. Under pressure after a disastrous market reaction to his so-called “mini-budget,” which did not include independent scrutiny from the OBR, Kwarteng shifted it to October 31.
It means the statement will now come after the Bank of England’s next decision on interest rates on November 3, with the central bank widely expected to further hike rates.
Source: Politico
