Government facing “sober” decisions on spending cuts

According to the BBC, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt were told in a meeting on Thursday that economic growth is forecast to be considerably lower than the last independent forecast – meaning they have a bigger financial hole to fill.  

The meeting follows an announcement from the government that it would be pushing it’s UK tax and spending plan back until 17 November – two weeks after the previously announced date of 31 October.  

And, while the Treasury hasn’t put a figure on how much it will need to find in the budget, the BBC has said it has been told it may need to be at least £50bn. This was because the government needed some “headroom” beyond just getting their existing debt down in case the economy doesn’t grow as much as expected.  

A Treasury source told the outlet: “Markets have calmed somewhat, but the picture is still bleak. Britain is facing an economic crisis with a massive fiscal black hole to fill.  

“People should not underestimate the scale of this challenge, or how tough the decisions will have to be. We’ve seen what happens when governments ignore this reality.”