Please try another search
© Reuters. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt speaks during an interview with television correspondent Robert Peston outside the BBC headquarters, in London, Britain, October 15, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the government had gone "too far, too fast" in its drive for growth after Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to fire his predecessor and make U-turns on tax-cutting plans amid market turmoil.
Truss appointed Hunt on Friday to replace Kwasi Kwarteng, and said she was scrapping parts of their controversial economic package announced only three weeks earlier, which included billions of pounds of unfunded tax cuts.
"My focus is on growth underpinned by stability. The drive on growing the economy is right - it means more people can get good jobs, new businesses can thrive and we can secure world class public services," Hunt said late on Saturday.
"But we went too far, too fast," he added in the statement.
Hunt is trying to reassure the financial markets after Kwarteng's "mini-budget" on Sept. 23 led to a slump in the value of the pound and government bonds, forcing the Bank of England (BoE) to step in to restore calm.
BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said earlier that he had spoken to Hunt and there had been an immediate "meeting of minds" on the need to fix the public finances.
Hunt said the government needed to be honest with the public about difficult decisions that were needed on tax and spending, but these would be taken with a view to protecting struggling families and businesses.
"I will set out clear and robust plans to make sure government spending is as efficient as possible, ensure taxpayer money is well spent and that we have rigorous control over our public finances," he said.
The key test of whether Hunt has reassured the markets will come on Monday, when the British government bond market functions for the first time without the emergency buying support provided by the BoE since Sept. 28.
Gilt prices plunged late on Friday after Truss gave a news conference in which she announced the partial reversal of her tax-cutting agenda, with some strategists saying more was needed to shore up the appeal of government bonds to investors.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.