British Budget To Help Households Facing Brexit Stormclouds
Fakhir Rizvi Published November 23, 2016 | 08:50 AM
LONDON, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Nov, 2016 ) - Britain on Wednesday delivers a first budget since the Brexit referendum, with government hopes of trimming austerity hampered by financial uncertainty surrounding the country's EU exit strategy.
The Conservative government's finance minister Philip Hammond delivers his Autumn Statement before parliament around 1230 GMT -- exactly five months after the Brexit vote. "Hammond will use his first Autumn Statement to unveil a series of measures designed to improve the living standards of ordinary working class people and their families," the Treasury said in a statement.
Among his key pledges, Chancellor of the Exchequer Hammond will announce a #1.4-billion ($1.7-billion, 1.6-billion Euros) investment to help build 40,000 "affordable" homes. He will meanwhile raise the National Living Wage to #7.50 an hour in April from #7.20.
"We need to be match fit for the opportunities and challenges" arising from Brexit, Hammond declared on Sunday, while warning that Britain still faced an "eye-watering" deficit following the 2008 global financial crisis that has triggered almost a decade of deep UK government spending cuts.
Official data Tuesday revealed smaller-than-expected government borrowing at #4.
8 billion in October from a year earlier on robust tax revenues. Nevertheless, Hammond was Wednesday expected to hike his borrowing forecasts on weaker-than-anticipated economic growth ahead of Britain's divorce from the EU.
Research group Capital Economics believes the Autumn Statement will outline "a modest" stimulus package of about #7 billion in the 12 months to the end of March 2018. "This will help offset some of the negative effects of Brexit-related uncertainty on the economy," it said.
"However, the big picture is that austerity is not over -- just that fiscal policy should be less of a drag on the economy than previously planned." The British economy has remained resilient since the referendum but some experts believe that Britain's planned departure from the EU could still spark economic chaos.
Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to trigger Britain's exit from the European Union by the end of March, after disaffected British voters sent shockwaves across the world in the June 23 referendum by choosing to leave the bloc.
Some economists argue that Donald Trump's shock election as US president could similarly persuade May's administration to do more to help workers who have felt shunned by government policies.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
4 minutes ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
24 minutes ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
34 minutes ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
34 minutes ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
44 minutes ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
1 hour ago
-
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
2 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
2 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
2 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
2 hours ago -
Teenage girl arrested after stabbing at Welsh school
3 hours ago -
Pakistan Day Reception in Pakistan Embassy Abu Dhabi
3 hours ago