The first Cabinet meeting with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, took place on Wednesday morning (26). On his first day as the UK’s head of government and, even before speaking to Parliament, Boris Johnson’s former finance minister has already announced the postponement of the budget presentation date, initially scheduled for next Monday (31) .
Rishi Sunak opened the meeting by saying that it is an “enormous privilege to serve as the leader of this great country”, addressing the new ministers of his government.
In a press release, the prime minister’s office said that Sunak once again reinforced “economic stability and fiscal sustainability” as the main objective of his term. But, stressing that this will require “some very difficult decisions”, he decided to postpone the presentation of the budget to 17 November.
The prime minister and current finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, justified the delay by saying that “it is important to get to the right decisions” and that time is needed “for those decisions to be approved by the cabinet”.
“Autumn Declaration [a apresentação do orçamento] will define how we will put Public Finance on a sustainable basis and make the debt decrease in the medium term and will be accompanied by a complete forecast from the Office of Budgetary Responsibility”, says the statement.
The head of the Finance portfolio also underlined that “economic stability and credibility are the essential basis for all policies”. Without these foundations, he continued, we cannot prepare for the country’s long-term growth.
accuracy and stability
To journalists, after the first meeting of the new British government, Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the budget presentation had been postponed and that it will now be a “full autumn statement” to reflect the “economic forecasts as accurately as possible”.
“My number one priority is economic stability and restoring confidence that the UK is a country that is on its way,” he said. “That’s why the medium-term fiscal plan is extremely important.”
The finance minister said he wants to get “medium term debt decline, which is very important for people to understand”.
“It is also extremely important that this statement is based on the most accurate economic forecasts and public finance forecasts. For this reason, the Prime Minister and I have decided that it is prudent to issue this statement on November 17th, when it will be updated to a complete autumn statement”.
Hunt further admitted that he recommended the postponement to the prime minister, calling it “the best way to ensure that the decisions we make, very, very difficult decisions, are the ones that stand the test of time and give us the best chance to give security.” people about mortgages, about their jobs, about the cost-of-living concerns that everyone has”.
Rishi Sunak will speak to the British Parliament for the first time as head of government and is expected to explain to lawmakers the reason for the postponement, at a time when Britons are keen for measures to tackle the current economic crisis.
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