Ministers have insisted the Government remains committed to “spending discipline” after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s £45 billion mini-budget tax cuts caused havoc in financial markets. As Tories head to Birmingham for their annual conference, Welsh Secretary Sir Robert Buckland said they were “absolutely committed” to funding their commitments amid signs ministers are preparing a major squeeze on public spending. Earlier Liz Truss acknowledged Mr Kwarteng’s “fiscal event” had resulted in “disruption” – with the pound slumping to a record low against the dollar and the Bank of England forced to intervene to prevent a collapse of the pensions industry. There have been calls also for the publication of the next set of economic forecasts by the OBR – due to be released alongside Mr Kwarteng’s mid-term plan on November 23 – to be brought forward to help restore confidence. The absence of updated projections from the independent watchdog was seen as one of the key reasons why the markets reacted so badly to the Chancellor’s mini-budget.

Source: The Times October 01, 2022 10:21 UTC