Jeremy Hunt leaves 10 Downing Street in London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)The newly-minted Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has set out emergency plans he’s hoping will mend the markets chaos wrought by his predecessor’s mini-Budget - by reversing “almost all” of Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting measures.
Will Hunt be seen as a steady hand to bring UK finances under control, and where does this all leave the premiership of Liz Truss?
The Treasury released an early announcement that the new Chancellor would reveal his emergency strategy to overhaul Kwarteng’s fiscal plans almost immediately, instead of waiting until Halloween, as they race to fill a £72billion hole in the public finances.
Hunt’s announced measures signal a £32 billion reversal of Kwarteng’s £45 billion of ‘Trussonomics’ cuts it was claimed could help bring inflation under control.
Plans include scrapping the penny reduction off income tax and a review in April of the energy bills guarantee, as households across Britain face newly-hiked charges for their gas and electricity.
While tax thresholds are frozen, the reversal in increased National Insurance and Stamp Duty changes both stay.
On this fast-moving day in Westminster, the Leader’s joined by Evening Standard deputy political editor David Bond and economic commentator Laurie Laybourn.
Listen here or here:
