by William Schomberg

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will present the government’s budget on Wednesday as Britain’s economy has seen mounting difficulties of late, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the acceleration of inflation.

Jeremy Hunt, who is due to deliver his budget speech at around 12:30 GMT, has rejected pleas from ruling Conservative Party lawmakers for deep tax cuts to be decided now to boost their reputation ahead of the scheduled election. in 2024.

Jeremy Hunt came to the finance ministry after the failure of former prime minister Liz Truss and her short-lived finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, whose plan for massive but unfunded tax cuts in late September had the fall of the pound sterling and the jump in yields on government bonds and mortgage interest rates.

He pledged last year to reduce the weight of public debt in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) within five years while reducing the budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP.

“In the fall, we made difficult decisions to ensure stability,” Jeremy Hunt is expected to say, according to excerpts from his speech. “Today we are presenting the second part of our plan: a budget for growth”, he will add.

Britain is the only Group of Seven country where production remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The finance minister is expected to announce measures to improve vocational training and give the green light to twelve “investment zones”.

Jeremy Hunt also hinted at new business investment incentives.

The British Treasury has also indicated that the budget will offer more help to businesses to meet the cost of living.

(Report William Schomberg; Camille Raynaud)

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