Treasury ministers criticised over ‘hokey cokey’ budget teasers

Treasury ministers have faced criticism for their “hokey cokey budget” teasers, amid fears speculation is behind sluggish economic growth.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said ministers of old “would be resigning for anything that was released” in advance of a major announcement, and shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said pre-budget briefings had “real-life consequences”.

Chief secretary James Murray said Chancellor Rachel Reeves would deliver her budget next week, “which will protect the NHS and public services”.

Official figures showed last week that economic growth slowed to 0.1% in the third quarter, down from 0.3% in the previous three months and worse than most economists predicted.

Ms Reeves has suggested the Jaguar Land Rover production shutdown in the wake of a cyber attack was behind weaker performance, with gross domestic product (GDP) declining by 0.1% during September after the fallout hit activity in the manufacturing sector.

She has reportedly ditched a plan to raise income tax, and held a press conference in Downing Street earlier this month, when she vowed to “make the choices necessary to deliver strong foundations for our economy”.

Using an urgent question to bring Mr Murray to the despatch box, Sir Mel said: “The process around the budget is meant to be the most closely guarded secret in Government, but in recent weeks we have barely been able to pick up a newspaper without a press report of the latest policy movements.”

The Conservative shadow chancellor later added: “The Chancellor and her officials may think this is a game they are playing, but it has real-life consequences, impacting markets as we saw on Friday.

“And more than that, it shows an utter contempt for this House.

“In this place, questions about the budget are always met with the same answer, ‘decisions on tax will be announced at the budget’.

“That is right and proper, but it becomes hollow and absurd when those same matters are being openly reported in the national media on a daily basis.

“The Chancellor even delivered a pre-budget address to the country, not in this House but in the Downing Street press room.”

Briefings

Sir Mel asked whether ministers had “sanctioned any briefings to journalists of potential budget tax measures or the contents of the OBR’s (Office for Budget Responsibility’s) forecast”, saying again that the reports had “fuelled confusion and uncertainty”.

Sir Lindsay said: “Can I just say, it isn’t normal for a budget to have been put in the press?

“It’s the hokey cokey budget – one minute it’s in, the next minute it’s out.

“I am very worried, like the previous government, which also had to be reprimanded for putting leaks out.

“It is not good policy. At one time a minister would be resigning for anything that was released, so what I would say is this House should be sacrosanct in all decisions, it should be heard here first.”

Mr Murray told the Commons: “Every minister in this Government takes responsibility to this House very seriously.

“And I will not engage with speculation, and I’m not going to comment on the ongoing budget process.

“But everyone in this House and beyond can be very clear of what the Chancellor’s priorities are going into that Budget – we will meet the iron-clad fiscal rules, we will make public finances more resilient, we will reduce inflationary pressures and we will get the cost of borrowing down, because that is the way we focus on the priorities of the British people, which is to protect the NHS, to bear down on the cost of living and to reduce the national debt.”

Stability

Conservative MPs laughed when Mr Murray had earlier said: “Stability remains at the heart of our approach.”

He continued: “By building more resilient public finances, with the headroom to withstand global turbulence, we will give businesses the confidence to invest and leave Government freer to act when the situation calls for it.”

Mr Murray said there had been “much speculation as is usual ahead of the budget, but the Chancellor will come to this House on November 26 to deliver a budget which will protect the NHS and public services”.

Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane told Sky News earlier on Monday that the budget so far had been a “real circus that’s been in town for months and months now”.

He said: “One of the reasons we had a very weak growth number last week is because there’s that budget speculation.”