Liz Truss to hold emergency talks with OBR after failing to calm markets
Liz Truss will hold emergency talks with the head of Britain’s independent fiscal watchdog after failing to dampen panic in the financial markets or shore up support from Tory MPs on her radical economic plan.
In a highly unusual move, the prime minister will meet the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Richard Hughes on Friday, along with her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, before being presented with a first draft of its full fiscal forecasts next week.
One government insider said the OBR meeting was “like trying to read the manual after you’ve broken the thing” after last week’s announcement of sweeping tax cuts triggered investor panic over the future health of the UK economy, prompting a sharp fall in the value of the pound and driving up government borrowing costs.
Truss faces urgent calls from the Treasury select committee to bring forward the government’s financial statement, which is not due until 23 November, by at least a month – and to publish growth forecasts as soon as possible to help calm jitters. On Thursday night the OBR confirmed that it could have produced a forecast in time for the mini-budget, but was not asked to do so by Kwarteng.
The Treasury select committee’s chair, Mel Stride, told the Guardian there was a path out of the current economic situation for the government, but added: “It’s not a very broad path. There is a lot of work to be done. This is a huge challenge.”
The Guardian understands Truss will use the meeting to discuss the dramatic economic and fiscal developments since March, the last time the OBR published growth forecasts. Kwarteng will continue liaising with the body over the forecast process ahead of the release of the next figures. Alarm was spreading across the Conservative party
Read more on theguardian.com
