Britain's new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said Prime Minister Liz Truss's government had made mistakes with its controversial tax cut plans that prompted turmoil in financial markets and led to the sacking of his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It was a mistake when we're 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," Mr. Hunt told Sky News on Saturday in his first full day in the job.
"It was a mistake to fly blind and to do these forecasts without giving people the confidence of the Office of Budget Responsibility saying that the sums add up. The prime minister has recognised that, that's why I'm here."
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Hunt said that some taxes will go up and government spending will rise by less than previously planned as difficult decisions will have to be taken to restore Britain’s fiscal credibility.
“We will have some very difficult decisions ahead,” Mr. Hunt, appointed on Friday after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked in the fallout of a disastrous fiscal statement last month, said.
“Spending will not rise by as much as people would like to all government departments are going to have to find more efficiencies than they were planning to. And some taxes will not be cut as quickly as people want, and some taxes will go up. So it’s going to be difficult,” he told Sky News.