Truss govt avoided budget label to dodge scrutiny

The decision to dispense with the OBR proved catastrophic for Kwarteng and Truss after investors took fright at the lack independent scrutiny amid fears that the unfunded plans would send both inflation and debt spiralling. – Reuters

LONDON: Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng called his ill-judged £45bil (US$53bil or RM242.45bil) tax giveaway a “growth plan” to avoid having to publish a bleak economic forecast alongside his boosterish September statement, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Richard Hughes, chairman of the independent fiscal watchdog, told lawmakers that had the fiscal event been called a budget, Kwarteng would have been obliged to release an official economic outlook that included the damaging impact of high gas prices and rising interest rates.