In an unusual move, Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwarteng will meet Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman Richard Hughes to discuss economic and fiscal developments. Mr Kwarteng unveiled a raft of tax cuts last week in a budget statement that was not accompanied by OBR forecasts. The weatherman said he had offered to prepare a draft for the new chancellor in time for the mini-budget, but it was not taken up. Now, a group of MPs has reportedly called for the forecast to be made public immediately. The chancellor insisted he is “sticking” to his mini-budget, despite spooking markets and forcing emergency intervention from the Bank of England. Meanwhile, Tory MP Sir Charles Walker said the Conservative Party faced an existential threat after Labor surged to a 33-point lead in one poll. He suggested the Conservatives would “cease to exist as a political party” if their 33-point lead is repeated at a general election.
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‘A travesty’ if poorer benefits rise by less than CPI, says former pensions minister
Former pensions minister Baroness Altman said it would be a “travesty” if the government increased the pensions of the UK’s poorest citizens by less than the consumer price index (CPI). The Conservative leader wrote in the Daily Express: “Pension Credit has always been bound to rise at least in line with pay inflation, but the Government can choose to do better. “I think he should. If these poorer senior citizens only see their pensions increase during lower earnings, it would be a travesty. “This is because the government legislated last year to strip them of their earnings protection and instead replaced it with a price inflation upgrade.” Alisha Rahaman Sarkar30 September 2022 06:31 1664515006
Liz Truss claims ‘no one’ will pay more than £2,500 in energy bills
Prime Minister Liz Truss wrongly claimed “no one” will pay more than £2,500 in energy bills from October 1. During a morning show yesterday, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio Leeds that the maximum amount households will pay is £2,500 under the Energy Price Guarantee. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said £2,500 is an “expected annual energy cost for a 3-bedroom household” and could rise for some people.
Liz Truss wrongly claims ‘no one’ will pay more than £2,500 in energy bills
Liz Truss wrongly claimed “no one” will pay more than £2,500 in energy bills from October 1. During a morning show today, September 29, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio Leeds that the maximum amount households will pay is £2,500 under the Energy Price Guarantee. Ms Truss also made these claims during an interview with CNN. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said £2,500 is an “expected annual energy cost for a 3-bedroom household”. Bills could be more or less depending on how much energy a household uses. Subscribe to our newsletters. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar30 September 2022 06:16 1664513517
Don’t give up on agenda flattening, Tory MPs warn Liz Truss
Senior Tory MPs have warned Liz Truss not to abandon her ‘levelling’ agenda as new research reveals towns and cities in the Midlands and North continue to lag behind those in the South. Ms Truss did not mention Boris Johnson’s plan to tackle regional inequality in her first speech as prime minister, sparking fears she may ignore the so-called “red wall” seats which were crucial to the Labor Party’s victory. Tories in the 2019 election. Northern Research Group (NRG) Conservative MPs have warned that the current economic crisis “risks further widening the North-South divide” – urging Ms Truss to commit to the flattening agenda.
Don’t give up on agenda flattening, Tory MPs warn Liz Truss
Economic crisis ‘risks further widening North-South divide’, campaigners say ahead of conference Alisha Rahaman Sarkar30 September 2022 05:51 1664511169
Liz Truss will meet the head of the UK’s independent financial watchdog
Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will today meet the head of Britain’s independent financial watchdog after the market collapse triggered by the mini-budget. In an unusual move, Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwarteng will meet Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman Richard Hughes to discuss economic and fiscal developments. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar30 September 2022 05:12 1664509000
Almost £50bn of cuts needed to fund tax breaks for the rich, economists warn
Liz Truss’s government is set to make public spending cuts of almost £50bn a year after Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget “unforced error”, according to leading economists. Experts at the Resolution Foundation have warned that Britain’s public sector is heading for a return to the period of austerity imposed by David Cameron’s Tory government. If Ms Truss refuses to roll back her borrowing for tax cuts, the level of spending cuts would have to be “broadly the same or greater” than then chancellor George Osborne had set out in 2010 after the banking crash. said the think tank. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar30 September 2022 04:36 1664506855
The Office of Budget Responsibility says the chancellor produced a mini-budget with no financial projections
The Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed it could have provided a financial forecast in time for the chancellor’s budget event but was not asked by Kwasi Kwarteng. It adds further detail to ongoing objections that the chancellor made his mini-budget, which included £45bn of tax cuts, without a clear financial forecast to back it up. In a letter to SNP leader at Westminster Ian Blackford and the party’s shadow chancellor Alison Thewlis, the OBR chairman confirmed the body sent “a draft economic and fiscal forecast to the new Chancellor on September 6, his first day in charge. “. Richard Hughes wrote: “We proposed, then, to update this forecast to take into account subsequent data and reflect the economic and fiscal impact of any policies announced by the government in time to be published alongside the ‘fiscal event’.” “ “In this case, we were not mandated to provide an updated forecast alongside the Chancellor’s Growth Plan on 23 September, although we would have been able to do so to a standard that met the legal requirements of the Charter for Budget Responsibility.” . Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 September 2022 04:00 1664503255
Liz Truss to hold meeting with OBR amid market alarm over mini-Budget
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are set to meet the head of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) on Friday amid market panic over the government’s mini-budget. The prime minister and chancellor will hold emergency talks with Richard Hughes in an unusual move that caps a week of financial market chaos. A government insider told the Guardian, which first reported that the meeting would take place, that it was “like trying to read the manual after you’ve broken the thing”.
Liz Truss to hold meeting with OBR amid market alarm over mini-Budget
The OBR says it offered to produce forecasts for the mini-budget, but the Treasury refused Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 September 2022 03:00 1664499600
‘Utterly damning’ government failed to commission forecast from OBR-Ian Blackford
Ian Blackford MP, leader of the SNP at Westminster, called it “absolutely damning” that the government had failed to commission a forecast from the OBR. He said: “The revelation that the OBR offered to provide a forecast to the Chancellor to follow his budget statement last week but was not commissioned by the Tory government is utterly damning. “This is despite the OBR confirming that it was able to produce an updated forecast that met the legal requirements of the Charter for Budget Responsibility. “Last week we witnessed the devastating impact of the Tory budget, hitting people’s mortgages, putting pensions at risk and hammering household budgets. “The Prime Minister and Chancellor cannot continue to shirk responsibility. They must explain why they did not commission financial forecasts from the OBR to accompany their disastrous budget and must urgently recall Parliament and overturn their reckless plans.” Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 September 2022 02:00 1664496055
‘Disastrous’ if Tories break promise to raise benefits in line with inflation
Failure to meet a pledge to increase benefits in line with inflation would lead to disabled people “starving and freezing in their homes”, a charity has warned. As the government seeks to cut spending, neither Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng nor Finance Minister Chris Philp have confirmed whether benefits will increase in line with rising inflation. In May this year, then chancellor Rishi Sunak said benefits would be upgraded from September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), subject to a review by the Work and Pensions Secretary. Asked during a visit to Darlington whether benefits would be upgraded in line with inflation, Mr Kwarteng said: “It’s premature for me to decide on that, but we are absolutely focused on making sure the most vulnerable in our society are protected in from what could be a challenge.” Mr Philp told ITV’s Robert Peston that the matter was under review. Pressed, he said: “I’m not going to make policy commitments on live TV, it will be considered in the normal way, we will make a decision and it will be announced, I’m sure in the first instance in the House of Commons.” Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 September 2022 01:00 1664494255
