Jeremy Hunt To Make Emergency Statement About The Medium-Term Fiscal Plan

The chancellor is expected to rip up more of Liz Truss's economic policies today.
Jeremy Hunt is the new chancellor of the exchequer
Jeremy Hunt is the new chancellor of the exchequer
Chris J Ratcliffe via Getty Images

Jeremy Hunt will deliver an emergency statement on the medium-term fiscal plan today.

The new chancellor – the UK’s fourth in as many months – is trying to fix the flailing economy after the mini-budget triggered a fall in the pound and chaos on the markets.

The surprise confirmation that Hunt was making a statement today was released at 6am on Monday morning, before the markets opened.

The Treasury tweeted: “The chancellor Jeremy Hunt will make a statement this morning, bringing forward measures from the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan that will support fiscal sustainability.

“A statement to the House of Commons will follow this afternoon.”

The medium-term fiscal plan will still be released in full on October 31, but Hunt will announce how he’ll pay for the mini-budget mid-morning and make a statement to Parliament at 3.30pm.

A forecast from the independence Office for Budget Responsibility will be published at the end of the month too.

Hunt is expected to include yet more U-turns from Liz Truss’s original policies when he makes a statement mid-morning, in a bid to stabilise the economy.

The chancellor met with the governor of the Bank of England and the head of the Debt Management Office on Sunday night to brief them on his plans.

Three MPs are already calling for Truss to resign, and deep divisions within the Conservative Party mean there is already widespread speculation about how long she will last in No.10.

There are no plans at the moment for the prime minister to speak today.

The Chancellor @Jeremy_Hunt will make a statement this morning, bringing forward measures from the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan that will support fiscal sustainability.

A statement to @HouseofCommons will follow this afternoon.

Read more: https://t.co/iA4DkquxaP pic.twitter.com/d29N5vaxrC

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) October 17, 2022

Hunt was appointed as chancellor on Friday after Truss fired his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng, as it became clear their mini-budget could not be rescued.

The prime minister gave a very short press conference on Friday amid all the ongoing chaos and faced questions from journalists about how long she would be able to remain in No.10.

The pair announced their Growth Plan on September 23, along with £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts – and have been facing widespread criticism ever since.

Kwarteng had already performed several U-turns after unveiling his disastrous mini-budget in September, including dropping the plan to cut the 45p tax cut rate and bringing the medium-term fiscal plan forward by several weeks.

Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden, told the BBC that the announcement from Hunt is “testament to how much chaos has been caused by Liz Truss”.

After Hunt revealed he planned to make a statement, the pound increased in value by around 0.7%, to $1.12 in US dollars.

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