LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – British Trade Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Wednesday the government had not abandoned plans to rein in parts of the economy after reports that major government disputes had delayed the programme.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss has promised to boost economic growth and cut taxes by tens of billions of pounds by reforming planning rules, workers’ rights and immigration.
The uncollected tax cuts have sent shockwaves through financial markets and The Times newspaper says the government has now been forced to delay any announcements on the reforms after Reese-Mogg and Truss failed to agree details.
Rees-Mogg said the plans remain on track.
“We’ve got big regulatory plans going on,” Rees-Mogg told Times Radio.
“This is the cumulative effect of many detailed changes rather than one big explosion.”
The government is under pressure to figure out how to jump-start growth, rebuild shattered investor confidence and convince Britain’s spending watchdog to think about balancing the books.
Truss Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng has pushed back the date of publication of his fiscal plans and economic forecasts to October 31 as borrowing costs rise and mortgage and pension markets come under pressure. This means that the government now has even less time to outline the policies for change.
Quartet had previously planned to present the full budget on November 23 – two months after the “minimum budget” triggered a crisis in British bonds.
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Reporting by William James and Farooq Suleiman; Editing by Kate Holton
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
