UK delays key financial plan until Nov. 17

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) – The new British government on Wednesday pushed back the release of a key financial plan by more than two weeks.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the medium-term fiscal statement, which lays out the government’s plan for tax and spending, will be issued on Nov. 17 instead of Oct. 31.

Following former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ mini-budget that unleashed chaos in the markets and tanked the pound sterling, her government announced an emergency financial statement would be given at the end of October.

The decision to delay the plan was taken jointly by Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, himself a former chancellor.

Hunt said the government’s focus was on “economic stability and restoring confidence that the UK is a country that pays its way.”

“It’s also extremely important that the statement is based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and forecasts of public finances,” he said.

Hunt added that he discussed the matter with the head of the Bank of England, and that he understood the reasons for the decision.

With the decision marking yet another U-turn in recent British government policies, Hunt asserted that he was “willing to make choices that are politically embarrassing if they’re the right thing to do for the country.”