- Andy Haldane, a BoE Monetary Policy Committee member until 2021, said the UK is "skating on pretty thin ice in fiscal terms" ahead of the Autumn Budget and that there is a risk the ice cracks.
- The UK now has the highest government borrowing costs in the G7, with gilt yields surging amid domestic and global instability.
- Haldane said the single most effective move would be for the government to "appease financial markets" by showing it is able and willing to cut public spending, calling spending the Achilles' heel of the government.
- The Oct 28 Autumn Budget is the first for Prime Minister Andy Burnham's administration; finance minister John Healey seeks a fiscal buffer against uncertainty while prioritizing living costs, devolution and higher defense spending.
- British press reports windfall taxes targeting banks are on the table; UK lenders have lobbied against the proposal, with JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon meeting Burnham and Healey in London last month.
Quotes
“The truth is we are skating on pretty thin ice in fiscal terms, and nothing would be worse both economically and politically than if the ice were to crack beneath our feet”
“Our inflation is higher and stickier. Our growth is lower and stickier. We have yet to balance the books this century — so history is not on our side. The facts are not on our side. That's why the ice is thin.”
“That is the Achilles' heel of this government”
“there's a real sense within the private sector that they are taxed out”