Newly appointed prime minister Rishi Sunak is considering delaying next week’s planned fiscal statement as he considers ways to plug a £40bn hole in the UK economy.
Mr Sunak is expected to meet finance minister Jeremy Hunt today to discuss proposals to increase taxes and squeeze public spending, reported The Times.
According to the outlet, the statement is likely to be pushed back by a couple of days so it is presented before 3 November, when the Bank of England announces its plan on interest rates.
It may even be pushed back again to turn into a full Budget, the report added. This comes after Mr Hunt reverse Liz Truss’s economic growth plan on 17 October, following weeks of economic turmoil that triggered her resignation.
Mr Sunak quickly reappointed Mr Hunt as his finance minister in a bid to calm the markets.
The prime minister’s formation of his cabinet involved the culling of nearly a dozen of Ms Truss’s top-tier ministers, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, while reviving the careers of a host of big names from the Johnson administration, including Suella Braverman, Dominic Raab and Michael Gove.
