Interest rate increases threaten prime minister's fiscal plans and key pledges, OBR to warn
The Guardian|July 13, 2023
The Treasury's tax and spending watchdog is set to sound the alarm over the impact of rising interest rates on public finances, delivering a serious blow to the government's scope for pre-election tax cuts.
Richard Partington
Interest rate increases threaten prime minister's fiscal plans and key pledges, OBR to warn

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility will warn that stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs are adding to the challenges facing Rishi Sunak, making it less likely that he will meet one of his five key pledges - tackling Britain's public debt.

It is understood the OBR will produce a range of scenarios in its annual "fiscal risks and sustainability report" today, setting out the impact of higher interest rates for the public purse, in a warning that sustained pressure could force it to tear up its official forecasts.

The OBR said it would "assess the fiscal implications of recent rises in global interest rates, the vulnerability of the UK's current debt position, and explore the challenges in getting debt to fall in the coming years".

At the start of the year Sunak based three of his five priorities on the economy: halving inflation, growing the economy and getting debt falling.

However, leading economists warned that failure on his top priority to reduce inflation was placing all three in danger, as the Bank of England's rapid rate rises increased the prospect of a recession, and as higher inflation and borrowing costs added billions of pounds to the government's debt interest bill.

Denne historien er fra July 13, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 13, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE GUARDIANSe alt
Post Office boss asked about his pay and bonuses 'more than expected', says board member
The Guardian

Post Office boss asked about his pay and bonuses 'more than expected', says board member

The chair of the Post Office's remuneration committee has said she was surprised at how frequently the company's boss, Nick Read, asked about his pay and bonuses, given the pressure it was under due to the ongoing fallout from the Horizon IT scandal.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Murdoch property group raises offer for Rightmove to £6.2bn as deadline looms
The Guardian

Murdoch property group raises offer for Rightmove to £6.2bn as deadline looms

Britain's booming wine-growing industry has been compared to \"California in the 70s\", with annual production more than doubling to 12m bottles a year, according to a report.

time-read
1 min  |
September 28, 2024
Viral load Social media putting rare species in danger
The Guardian

Viral load Social media putting rare species in danger

With its striking plumage, impressive size and rowdy displays, a capercaillie is many birders' dream. Only about 530 of the woodland grouse survive in the wild, most in Scotland's Cairngorms national park.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues
The Guardian

Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues

Hurricane Helene has reportedly killed at least 20 people and left 4m consumers without power across the south-eastern United States after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Closing borders Electoral pressures put EU's freedom of movement under threat
The Guardian

Closing borders Electoral pressures put EU's freedom of movement under threat

In 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say: \"Wir schaffen das\" (\"We can manage this\"), and open the country's borders.

time-read
1 min  |
September 28, 2024
Fight does not end here, say critics, as Wimbledon wins the go-ahead to expand
The Guardian

Fight does not end here, say critics, as Wimbledon wins the go-ahead to expand

Wimbledon's controversial plans to build 39 new tennis courts have been given the green light after a deputy mayor of London ruled that the \"very significant benefits\" of the scheme outweighed any potential harm to the environment.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Sue Gray Advisers to the PM are often targets of sniping but is it sustainable?
The Guardian

Sue Gray Advisers to the PM are often targets of sniping but is it sustainable?

For someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour party conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing
The Guardian

Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing

Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Tributes paid to 'one of a kind' in seven decades on stage and screen
The Guardian

Tributes paid to 'one of a kind' in seven decades on stage and screen

Maggie Smith, the prolific, awardwinning actor described by peers as being \"one of a kind\" and possessed of a \"sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent\", has died aged 89.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'
The Guardian

Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza yesterday, using a defiant speech at the UN general assembly to denounce the world body as an \"antisemitic swamp\" and insist Israel is \"winning\" its multi-front wars.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024