The new British Prime Minister, the conservative Rishi Sunak, decided this Wednesday to postpone the presentation of the budget plan until November 17 that should reassure the markets, after the convulsion caused by the controversial economic measures of its predecessor.
Sunak, a 42-year-old former banker billionaire, the grandson of Indian immigrants, was appointed head of government on Tuesday to replace the also conservative Liz Truss.
(Also read: Rishi Sunak: who is the billionaire and first Hindu to rule the UK)
This, sworn in on September 6 to replace the controversial Boris Johnson, was forced to resign last week, under pressure from the markets and from his own party, due to the financial chaos he caused with his controversial policies of tax cuts and aid. public funds without financing in times of very high inflation.
In an attempt to calm the concerns of the markets, his finance minister, the ultra-liberal Kwasi Kwarteng, had agreed to advance to October 31 the presentation of a budget plan initially scheduled for November 25.
However, Kwarteng ended up being ousted and replaced two weeks ago by the more moderate Jeremy Hunt, after which Truss too had to leave power after being pushed to give up, one by one, her main tax-cutting measures.
(You may be interested in: Stability and unity: the challenges that Rishi Sunak will have as head of the United Kingdom)
In his first appearance after his appointment on Tuesday, Sunak, a defender of budgetary orthodoxy, promised to “correct” Truss’s “mistakes” and restore “economic stability and confidence.”
But for this “difficult decisions will have to be made,” he warned, raising fears of drastic austerity policies, with imminent budget cuts and tax increases.
His simple appointment and that of Hunt helped calm the volatility in the financial markets, so the new executive defended this Wednesday that it is no longer so urgent to present its budget and said he preferred to give himself more time for its elaboration.
The Prime Minister and I have decided that it is prudent to make that statement on November 17.
The head of government and his finance minister “have agreed on the date of November 17” to present their economic measures, the government said on Wednesday shortly before Sunak appeared before Parliament in his first weekly session of questions to the prime minister.
(Also: Rishi Sunak, richer than King Charles: this is the fortune of the new ‘premier’)
After the date was delayed, the Economy Minister told the media that the fiscal plan “will show that the debt will fall in the medium term, which is really important for people to understand.”
“But it is also critically important that that statement be based on the most accurate public finance and economic forecasts possible. And for that reason, the Prime Minister and I have decided that it is prudent to make that statement on November 17, when it is updated to a full fall statement,” he added.
Sunak appears before Parliament
The new conservative leader Sunak lived his baptism of fire in Parliament on Wednesday before a Labor opposition, favorite in the polls, which demands the call for early legislative elections after the second appointment in two months of a head of government without elections.
The Conservative Party had obtained with Boris Johnson an overwhelming legislative majority in 2019, the largest of the British right in 40 years.
But since then the country has changed its prime minister twice. The first, with Truss, through a vote in which only some 170,000 party members participated. The second, with Sunak, thanks only to the support of some 200 of the 357 conservative deputies.
(Read on: Sunak prioritizes ‘economic stability’ and anticipates ‘difficult decisions’)
In this context, 62% of British voters, in a country of 67 million inhabitants, want early legislative elections to be called before the end of the year, instead of waiting for the beginning of 2025, according to an Ipsos survey.
Billionaire Sunak “is not on the same side as working people,” Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer launched in the House of Commons, asking the new prime minister “why don’t you put him to the test and let the workers have their say by calling general elections?
The Conservative leader dodged the question as well as one of the Scottish nationalists about whether social aid will rise in his next budget at the same level as inflation, which is already over 10%.
“I have always acted in a way that protects the most vulnerable,” the former finance minister limited himself to responding, who distributed generous aid during the pandemic, triggering a public debt that now needs to be repaid.
He insisted on the need to control inflation, “the enemy that makes the whole world poorer”, and assured that he will make the necessary “difficult decisions” “in a way that is fair and compassionate”.
In his first monitoring session as British Prime Minister, Sunak was also questioned about the appointment of Suella Braverman as head of the Interior, after she resigned from the previous government of Liz Truss due to a security breach.
In the weekly session of questions to the prime minister in the House of Commons, the Labor leader, Keir Starmer, in the opposition, questioned the appointment of Braverman and accused the “tory” leader of placing the interests of the party above those of the country.
(Also: The British and the political and economic crossroads that does not stop)
Braverman resigned last week from the Government of Liz Truss after admitting that he had mistakenly sent a document to a deputy by his personal email instead of doing it by the official.
“The interior minister made a mistake and has recognized it, warned (the problem) and accepted her mistake,” argued Sunak. “That is why I am delighted to welcome back a united cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of government,” the prime minister said.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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