Jeremy Hunt: There were mistakes in mini-budget – and some taxes will go up
The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Hunt said: “It was a mistake when we were going to be asking for difficult decisions across the board on tax and spending to cut the rate of tax paid by the very wealthiest.”
Hunt warns of ‘difficult decisions’ – follow politics latest
He added that it was an error to “fly blind” by not accompanying the ‘fiscal event’ with an economic forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which many argue sent the financial markets into turmoil.
On tax cuts, he said: “We won’t have the speed of tax cuts we were hoping for and some taxes will go up.”
Asked if this would mean a return to austerity, he replied: “I don’t think we’re talking about austerity in the way we had it in 2010. But we’re going to have to take tough decisions on both spending and tax.”
The comments signal a plan to up-end the prime minister’s entire economic strategy, in an extraordinary rebuke of the pledges that brought her into office.
Mr Hunt was appointed chancellor on Friday, an hour after his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked after just 38 days in the job.
While his appointment was welcomed by some Tory MPs as “an experienced pair of hands”, others questioned why Mr Kwarteng was the one who had to go when he was pursuing policies Ms Truss espoused in her leadership campaign.
At a hastily-arranged news conference in Downing Street on Friday, the prime minister dismissed calls for her resignation, saying she was “absolutely determined to see through what I have promised”.
But announcing another U-turn, she said: “It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting, so the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change.”
Mr Kwarteng’s plans to drop the planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%, were therefore being scrapped, she announced, saving the Exchequer £18bn a year.
Is Jeremy Hunt now more powerful than the PM?
Jeremy Hunt has confirmed that Prime Minister Liz Truss’s economic vision is not only dead, but that the immediate actions of this administration will be to do almost exactly the opposite of what the prime minister promised during the summer leadership campaign.
This was a cold, hard reality check from a chancellor who is being upfront about the fact that his primary purpose is to put out the fires started by the government he’s just joined and restore some semblance of credibility to the UK economy.
Some taxes will rise, some will be cut more slowly than expected, and public spending will be trimmed with every department asked to find savings.
Does this mean pushing back the 2023 cut to the basic rate of income tax? Can the Ministry of Defence still expect its funding increase? Is there any chance of public sector pay rises reaching anywhere near inflation?
Politically, there is an argument to be made that Jeremy Hunt is now more powerful than the prime minister.
‘The last few weeks have been very tough’
Asked why he agreed to take on the difficult job of sorting out the public finances, the new chancellor said he wants to “do the right thing by the British people”.
But he added: “I want to be honest with people, we have some very difficult decisions ahead.
“The last few weeks have been very tough, but the context of that is coming out of a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis.
Read more:
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Jeremy Hunt is arguably now more powerful than prime minister Liz Truss
“No chancellor can control the markets, but what I can do is show that we can pay for our tax and spending plans and that is going to need some very difficult decisions.”
He said that all government departments would have to “find more efficiencies than they were planning to find”.
However, he declined to give any specific commitments ahead of the fiscal statement on October 31.
Asked if the NHS will still get the money that was promised in the health and social care levy, he said “the government’s already made that commitment”.
He added: “I’m not going to make any specific commitments about specific departments now, or indeed on the tax side about specific taxes because we have to look at these things in the round. And we have to make sure as we take these very difficult decisions, we’re honest with people about the situation we face.”
‘This is a disaster’
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, questioned how cuts can be made given the pressure public services are under.
He said the market turmoil seen in recent weeks is a “crisis made in Number 10” and called for a general election.
He said: “As you listen to Jeremy Hunt what you hear is despite long queues in the NHS, it’s now set to get worse, despite rising class sizes in Britain we can expect our education to get worse, and with crime soaring across many communities in the country, we need police officers.
“Are they are now going to back-pedal on those undertakings that they’ve previously made?
“This is a disaster and the only way to deal with a disaster is a general election and to set our country on a certain path for the next five years.”
He claimed Ms Truss had “no mandate” for her policies.
“We cannot live in an oligarchy effectively where the Conservatives choose who leads them and as a consequence gives us a prime minister with no mandate at all to make, now, the swingeing cuts that we’re about to see.”
Mr Hunt’s comments may only add to the sense among some Tory MPs that Ms Truss is increasingly powerless in Downing Street.
Will Walden, Boris Johnson’s director of communications when he was mayor of London, called Mr Hunt an effective “caretaker prime minister”, while former Conservative leader Lord Hague warned Ms Truss’s premiership “hangs by a thread”.
Heated messages shared in Conservative Party WhatsApp groups after Ms Truss’s hastily-arranged Downing Street press conference show the party is divided about the next steps, with some MPs calling for the PM to be replaced by Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt.
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The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
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Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
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‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
FIFA has backed away from using dynamic pricing for all 2026 World Cup tickets amid concerns about the cost of attending the tournament in North America.
The organisers insisted they always planned to ring-fence tickets at set prices to follow your own team.
But the announcement comes just days ahead of Friday’s tournament draw in Washington DC, which Donald Trump plans to attend.
Fans will have to wait until Saturday to know exactly where and when their teams will be playing in next summer’s tournament.
Scotland will be one of the teams in the tournament, held in North America and Mexico
Variable pricing – fluctuating based on demand – has never been used at a World Cup before, raising concerns about affordability.
England and Scotland fans have been sharing images in recent days of ticket website images highlighting cost worries.
But world football’s governing body said in a statement to Sky News: “FIFA can confirm ringfenced allocations are being set aside for specific fan categories, as has been the case at previous FIFA World Cups. These allocations will be set at a fixed price for the duration of the next ticket sales phase.
“The ringfenced allocations include tickets reserved for supporters of the Participating Member Associations (PMAs), who will be allocated 8% of the tickets for each match in which they take part, including all conditional knockout stage matches.”
FIFA says the cheapest tickets are from $60 (£45) in the group stage. But the most expensive tickets for the final are $6,730 (£5,094).
There will also be a sales window after the draw from 11 December to 13 January when ticket applications will be based on a fixed price for those buying in the random selection draw.
It is the biggest World Cup with 104 matches after the event was expanded from 32 to 48 teams. There are also three host nations for the first time – with Canada and Mexico the junior partners.
The tournament mascots as seen in Mexico in October. Pic: Reuters
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FIFA defended using fluctuating pricing.
“The pricing model adopted for FIFA World Cup 26 reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and sporting events within our hosts on a daily basis, soccer included,” FIFA’s statement continued.
“This is also a reflection of the treatment of the secondary market for tickets, which has a distinct legal treatment than in many other parts of the world. We are focused on ensuring fair access to our game for existing but also prospective fans.”
The statement addressed the concerns being raised about fans being priced out of attending.
FIFA said: “Stadium category maps do not reflect the number of tickets available in a given category but rather present default seating locations.
“FIFA resale fees are aligned with North American industry trends across various sports and entertainment sectors.”
Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales could also still qualify.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
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