Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has bowed to pressure to bring forward the publication of his financial strategy and independent economic forecasts – to Halloween. Completing another U-turn, Mr Kwarteng agreed to set out his medium-term fiscal plan alongside Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predictions on October 31.
The Chancellor had been resisting setting out the details ahead of November 23 after he set out his multibillion-pound package of tax cuts to be paid for by borrowing. Commons Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride welcomed the move, saying the documents may result in a smaller rise in interest rates which is “critical to millions” of mortgage holders.
But the senior Tory MP warned this would only be the case if the plan “lands well with the markets” ahead of a Bank of England meeting on November 3. Having been spooked by the scale of borrowing to fund £45 billion of tax cuts, financial traders will eagerly await the publication of the plans that have been brought forward following pressure from Conservative MPs.
