Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs
9.16am GMT
Three weeks today Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will deliver his autumn statement. It will be his first big financial statement as chancellor and his first proper chance to reset economic policy in the light of the Brexit vote. And, according to today’s Financial Times splash, he will announce a “modest” financial stimulus, but also a new “flexible fiscal framework”.
After the Brexit vote the government abandoned George Osborne’s target of getting the budget into surplus by 2019-20. Hammond has yet to say what his replacement target will be, but the FT story makes it clear that his new rules will be more lax than Osborne’s. Chancellors used to pride themselves on their “iron” discipline. Given the uncertainty caused by our departure from the EU, Hammond seems to see being a “rubber” chancellor as more pragmatic.
FT: Hammond seeks ‘headroom’ to let deficit rise if Brexit hits growth #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers http://pic.twitter.com/b5HPAvobqx
Mr Hammond told cabinet colleagues on Tuesday to expect only a modest fiscal stimulus, with a programme of new infrastructure spending expected to run to the low billions of pounds a year.
But his new fiscal plan, while aimed at achieving a balanced budget in the next parliament, would allow a greater stimulus package to be unleashed if the current robust rate of economic growth starts to falter.
Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2fDCE3n
Sig Nordal 