[1andrew1]

Not a great vote of confidence in the Chancellor.

No 10 reviews Kwarteng’s mini-budget measures following market turmoil

Staffers told to undertake line-by-line scrutiny to see if changes are needed

A senior No 10 official told The Independent that staffers have been tasked with re-examining measures unveiled in the chancellor’s poorly-received statement to see if changes or U-turns might be required.

It comes as the pound fell against both the US dollar and the Euro on Tuesday evening following a warning from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey that support for bond markets would halt on Friday.

Both the Treasury and No 10 insist that last week’s dramatic climbdown on Mr Kwarteng’s planned abolition of the 45p income tax rate for high earners was jointly decided by the chancellor and prime minister Liz Truss.

But a full-scale reassessment of the mini-Budget would be taken as a sign of crumbling faith from the PM in her chancellor.

The move comes after the Treasury received an initial assessment of Mr Kwarteng’s package from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Friday, which laid bare the scale of fiscal tightening that will be needed to get the UK’s books back into balance.

Pressure from MPs to salvage the Conservative Party’s reputation for fiscal prudence, and the severe market turmoil unleashed following the mini-Budget were causing a rethink in No 10, said the official.

Options believed to be under review by No 10 include the possibility of a staggered rise in corporation tax, rather than retaining it at 19 per cent.

Last month’s mini-Budget overturned the previous government’s plans to raise the levy to 25 per cent next year.

Plans under discussion would still keep it below 25 per cent up to 2026 but could see it gradually rise over a number of years.

Another option understood to be under consideration is a one-year delay in the 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p, currently due to take effect in 2023.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b2200625.html