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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Dave Burke

Kwasi Kwarteng to make November 23 statement as he plots more tax cuts despite chaos

Under-fire Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is plotting more tax cuts - and will outline measures in November as the Truss government ploughs ahead with controversial tax cuts.

It comes as the pound today hit an all-time low against the dollar following his mini-budget on Friday.

The plunge meant the pound had reached its lowest ever level against the dollar since decimalisation in 1971.

It had already dropped to fresh 1985 lows on Friday after the Chancellor announced huge tax cuts in his Mini-Budget, which would be funded by adding tens of billions of pounds to the national debt.

Undeterred, the government today said further announcements will follow on support to the UK's financial sector - after the controversial decision to once again allow unlimited bonuses for bankers.

Further measures will be outlined next month, while Mr Kwarteng will outline his medium term fiscal plan on November 23, with a full budget to follow in the spring.

The Bank of England gave a hotly-awaited urgent statement today. It did not change interest rates, but warned it would not hesitate to raise them "by as much as needed" in future to get inflation under control.

Liz Truss said cutting taxes would be a priority for her government (Getty Images)

In a statement the Treasury said: "Next month, the Chancellor will, as part of that programme, outline regulatory reforms to ensure the UK’s financial services sector remains globally competitive.

"He will then set out his Medium-Term Fiscal Plan on 23 November.

"The Fiscal Plan will set out further details on the government’s fiscal rules, including ensuring that debt falls as a share of GDP in the medium-term."

The statement will be accompanied by a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which was missing from his announcement in the House of Commons on Friday.

Moments after the announcement, the Bank of England issued a statement saying its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would not hold back from adjusting interest rates if needed.

It said: "As the MPC has made clear, it will make a full assessment at its next scheduled meeting of the impact on demand and inflation from the Government’s announcements, and the fall in sterling, and act accordingly.

"The MPC will not hesitate to change interest rates as necessary to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its remit."

Labour has vowed to undo Mr Kwarteng's tax cut for Britain's highest earners, and use the cash to support the NHS.

The Chancellor last week announced that, from April, the 660,000 earners getting more than £150,000 a year will no longer pay the top income tax rate of 45% and will instead pay the 40% applicable to those on more than £50,271.

Labour said reversing this cut would raise more than £2bn a year, which it would funnel into boosting the NHS workforce.

In England, the party's plan involves doubling the number of doctors trained each year, from 7,500 to 15,000, at an annual cost of up to £1.1 billion.

Labour would also spend an annual £20 million doubling the number of district nurses qualifying per year, from 700 to 1,400.

It would invest an annual £100 million in 1,000 new health visitors per year, to provide high quality care for the community.

And it would create an extra 10,000 nursing and midwifery clinical placements every year, at an annual cost of £51 million.

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