KWASI Kwarteng has brought forward his highly-anticipated economic plan by almost a month in a bid to calm market jitters.
In a Halloween statement on October 31, the Chancellor will reassure spooked investors that his recent tax-cutting spree will not saddle the nation with unsustainable debt.
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He will also publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic forecast after initially refusing to do so.
In a letter to MPs, Mr Kwarteng revealed his “Medium Term Fiscal Plan” will now come on October 31 instead of November 23.
A series of announcements on immigration, childcare and other supply-side reforms will also be unveiled in the next few weeks.
Mr Kwarteng today bowed to MPs demanding his economic plan to wrestle down borrowing was made as soon as possible.
Responding to the Treasury Select Committee, he said: “I have decided to bring this date forward to 31 October.
“This forecast, in addition to the forecast that will be commissioned in spring, will fulfil the obligation for the Office for Budget Responsibility to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.”
After making £45billion of tax cuts in his “mini Budget“, Mr Kwarteng faced market meltdown as the pound plunged to record lows.
Although Sterling has since rebounded, the Bank of England stepped in to buy government bonds to stop the pensions industry collapsing.
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A fierce Tory rebellion later forced the Chancellor and Liz Truss to u-turn on the controversial decision to cut the 45p top rate of tax.
The PM faces fresh rows on whether to increase benefits in line with earnings, or the higher rate of inflation.
Conservative big beasts including Michael Gove and Sajid Javid want to uprate benefits with inflation.
A decision is set to come next month after last month’s inflation stats are published.
