Jeremy Hunt has revealed he is reversing “almost all” of the tax cuts announced in his predecessor’s mini-budget and is scaling back support on energy bills.
The chancellor, who only stepped into the job on Friday, said a 1p cut to income tax will be delayed “indefinitely” until the UK’s finances improve.
And he said the government’s energy price guarantee will be universal until April – not for two years as originally planned.
After April the scheme will be more targeted following a review into how to support people’s energy bills from that time, he said.
In a bid to calm the markets, the Treasury announced at 6am on Monday Mr Hunt was going to reveal parts of his medium-term fiscal plan – which was due to take place on 31 October.
Hunt makes statement – follow latest on politics
Over the weekend, Mr Hunt promised to slow down Ms Truss’ tax cuts and said “some taxes will go up” as he worked on tearing up the mini-budget that has caused weeks of economic turmoil.
His comments were welcomed by the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, who said there had been an “immediate meeting of minds on the importance of stability and sustainability” when he spoke to Mr Hunt on Friday.
The decision for Mr Hunt to make a statement on Monday was made after meetings between the chancellor, Ms Truss, Mr Bailey and the head of the Debt Management Office on Sunday night.
