Rishi Sunak delays ‘Budget’ by nearly three weeks

The Halloween ‘budget’ has been delayed for nearly three weeks to ensure Rishi Sunak’s new government can ‘reach the right decisions’. The first meeting of the new cabinet was told the crucial ‘fiscal plan’ – which is poised to set the UK back on a path to austerity with huge spending cuts – has been put back.Jeremy Hunt, retained as chancellor, has warned of ‘eye-watering’ decisions to balance the books, a task made harder by the market crash that followed the disastrous mini-budget.’The prime minister and the chancellor agreed that the fiscal event would now take place on the 17 November, and would be an Autumn Statement,’ a readout says.’He said it is important to reach the right decisions and there is time for those decisions to be confirmed with cabinet.’The Autumn Statement will set out how we will put public finances on a sustainable footing and get debt falling in the medium term and will be accompanied by a full forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.’