Latest updates: Deputy PM says she is not going to get into hypotheticals when challenged over potential spending cuts
Good morning. MPs return to the Commons after the party conference season today and, although Liz Truss has performed potentially quite a significant reset after the most disastrous first month in office of any prime minister in modern times, her problems still seem near impossible.
A report today from the Instute for Fiscal Studies highlights quite how dire the situation is. It says that the government will need to find £60bn of savings by 2026 to fill the gap left by the unfunded tax cuts in the mini-budget. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.
The IFS obviously does its own modelling. The government works with the Bank of England and the OBR on these measures and that is what the Treasury has been working on …
But I think the IFS also pointed out, if we don’t grow, then this problem will get worse and worse. And that’s why, very clearly, the prime minister and chancellor set out a plan for growth.
That’s not for me to say. That’s their forecasts. The chancellor will be speaking at the end of the month with the medium-term fiscal plan.
I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals, Kay. The chancellor is working on that …
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