MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK: Sunak to announce strategy two weeks later than planned

“We will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence,” Sunak told MPs

Britain's newly-appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Wednesday announced he was postponing the presentation of his plan to curb the country's current crisis and set Nov. 17 instead of Oct. 31 for the official launch.

In his first round of questions before MPs Wednesday, Sunak addressed inflation and the struggling economy, his stated commitment to the poorest, and Scottish independence, among other issues.

Sunak's first policy decision briefly raised British borrowing costs in financial markets in an economy facing recession at a time when the Bank of England is raising interest rates.
“I have been honest. We will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence,” Sunak told parliament, promising to protect the most vulnerable.

”The Chancellor (Jeremy Hunt) will set that out in an autumn statement in just a few weeks.“ Finance Minister Hunt said in a video appearance that the measures will seek to reassure markets about the long-term stability of the UK's public finances and that the new plan will be a proper budget overseen by the non-partisan Office for Budget Responsibility. The new timing of the budget presentation means it will follow a Bank of England decision, scheduled for Nov. 3, on the interest rate.

Britain's credibility in financial markets was shaken last month during the short-lived tenure of PM Liz Truss, who announced unfunded tax cuts, triggering a bond market rout that eventually led to her resignation.

Hunt said he wanted to restore confidence ”that the United Kingdom is a country that pays its way and for that reason, the medium-term fiscal plan is extremely important. The plan would show falling over the medium term, he added.

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates again on Nov. 3. British government bond prices extended their losses on confirmation of the budget plan delay.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she expected Sunak to steer Britain toward fiscal sustainability. “I listened carefully to him talking to the British people, and this is a message that should resonate across the world. These are tough times, and tough times require tough decisions,” Georgieva said.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted Sunak was too wealthy to side with the working class and insisted on the need for a general election. “Let the working class speak,” Starmer said

Sunak also held a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They “stressed the importance they both place on the relationship between the UK and EU, and on working together as friends and allies,” Downing Street said. ”The prime minister pointed to the united response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly on the implementation of unprecedented sanctions, as an example of the value of UK-EU cooperation.