Just after 6am this morning, the Treasury issued an announcement that the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, who has spent much of the weekend doing media interviews in an attempt to calm the markets as well as meeting with key government figures and Bank of England officials, is to make a statement to parliament at 3.30 today, following a media statement sometime this morning.
It is expected that the change to the basic rate of Income Tax is one of the key measures likely to be in the firing line today, along with other significant changes to the measures introduced in the mini-budget by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, just a few weeks ago.
This morning’s Treasury statement reads as follows:
“The Chancellor will make a statement later today, bringing forward measures from the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan that will support fiscal sustainability.
“He will also make a statement in the House of Commons this afternoon.
“This follows the Prime Minister’s statement on Friday, and further conversations between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor over the weekend, to ensure sustainable public finances underpin economic growth.
“The Chancellor will then deliver the full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to be published alongside a forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility on 31 October.
“The Chancellor met with the Governor of the Bank of England and the Head of the Debt Management Office last night to brief them on these plans.”
