The UK Treasury’s much-anticipated budget will be delayed beyond the October 31 deadline to ensure it “matches the new prime minister's priorities,” it was announced.
The planned economic statement to set out the next steps amid the cost-of-living crisis will now be delivered on November 17, the Treasury confirmed on Wednesday.
Upon entering 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, the new Conservative leader said the country faced a “profound economic crisis” and there were “difficult decisions to come”.
He immediately set about choosing MPs for his top team to take his agenda forward, and reappointed Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr Hunt, who scrapped almost all of Liz Truss’s economic policies, was on Monday said to be working towards the end-of-month date to have the medium-term fiscal package complete.
But earlier on Wednesday, James Cleverly, who was reappointed foreign secretary by Mr Sunak, had suggested the announcement of measures could be pushed back, given the tight time frame between the new prime minister entering office and the October 31 deadline.
-
Jeremy Hunt is reappointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Getty Images -
Dominic Raab is Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for Justice. PA -
Simon Hart is Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip). AFP -
James Cleverly is reappointed as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. Reuters -
Ben Wallace is reappointed as Secretary of State for Defence. AP -
Nadhim Zahawi becomes Minister without Portfolio. AP -
Oliver Dowden becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Getty Images -
Suella Braverman is Secretary of State for the Home Department. Reuters -
Grant Shapps becomes Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Getty Images -
Penny Mordaunt has been reappointed as Lord President of the Council, and Leader of the House of Commons. Reuters -
Gillian Keegan is Secretary of State for Education. PA -
Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. EPA -
Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. PA -
Steve Barclay becomes Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Getty Images -
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. Getty Images -
Kemi Badenoch, reappointed as Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade. She also becomes Minister for Women and Equalities. Bloomberg -
Michelle Donelan has been reappointed as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. EPA -
Chris Heaton-Harris, reappointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. PA -
Alister Jack, reappointed as Secretary of State for Scotland. Reuters -
David TC Davies, Secretary of State for Wales. AFP -
Lord True reappointed as Lord Privy Seal, and Leader of the House of Lords. Getty Images -
Victoria Prentis, Attorney General. Getty Images -
Jeremy Quin is Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office. Getty Images -
Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport. PA -
John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury. PA -
Johnny Mercer, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. PA -
Tom Tugendhat, reappointed as Minister for Security. PA -
Gavin Williamson, Minister without Portfolio. PA -
Robert Jenrick, Minister for Immigration. Getty Images -
Andrew Mitchell is Minister for Development. PA
“Obviously the date of that fiscal statement was originally set with no expectation of a change of prime minister,” he told BBC Breakfast. “We’ve now had a change of prime minister.
“Thankfully that’s happened very quickly, because nobody wants uncertainty.
“But the prime minister was appointed less than 24 hours ago. He is in the process of forming a government. He will want some time with his chancellor to make sure that the fiscal statement matches his priorities.”
He said while Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt “know they need to work quickly on this,” they also “want to get it right”.
When challenged over the uncertainty a delay would bring to British households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, Mr Cleverly said “a short delay, in order to make sure that we get this right, I think that is not necessarily a bad thing at all”.
The chancellor remained tight-lipped as he headed to a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, walking past reporters and photographers outside 10 Downing Street.
Mr Sunak’s entry into Britain’s highest office has given some stability to markets after weeks of upheaval caused by his predecessor’s debt-fuelled tax-slashing mini-budget unveiled on September 23.
The pound reacted calmly to Monday’s announcement that Mr Sunak had won the Tory leadership race and was set to become Britain’s third prime minister in two months.
Sterling rose again in early trading on Wednesday to reach $1.1512, the highest rate recorded since September 15 — before Ms Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
Britain’s 10-year gilt yield declined four basis points to 3.60 per cent. The 10-year yield was at roughly 3.5 per cent before the mini-budget last month.
