Kwasi Kwarteng: what did the Chancellor say about his mini-budget - will there be any more U-turns?

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has fueled speculation that he could perform another U-turn on his mini-budget after being asked about corporation tax.

The mini-budget was announced on 23 September and was immediately unpopular with the public, MPs from across the political spectrum, and also the international markets. The pound crashed against the dollar following the announcement.

Kwarteng went on to reverse the tax rate reduction for the wealthiest earners, after heavy criticism amid the cost of living crisis. The Chancellor called the policy a “distraction” from the rest of the mini budget before scrapping it.

Liz Truss’ tenureship has so far been marred by U-turns, with rumours suggesting that more could be coming on the mini-budget policies. However, Kwarteng has had his say on this.

What did Kwasi Kwarteng say about the mini-budget?

The Chancellor told reporters that he was “totally focused” on delivering the rest of the mini-budget after the 45p rate U-turn. He insisted that “our position has not changed”.

The Chancellor is due to reveal a “medium term fiscal plan” after the markets crashed - this was originally due to be released in November but was brought forward to the end of October. He admitted that his “fiscal event” did cause some “turbulence”. He said: “What I am going to acknowledge is the fact that it is a very dicey situation globally.”

Will there be any more U-turns?

Despite both Kwarteng and Downing Street having said that there are no further plans to change any policies from within the budget, in comments to The Telegraph, the Chancellor appeared to keep the door open to a U-turn on corporation tax. When asked if market behaviour, which seemed to be shifting to expect a U-turn, were predicting correctly, Kwarteng simply answered: “Let’s see.”

The markets shifted after rumours surfaced that the government was considering scrapping the plan to axe an increase in corporation tax which was announced alongside a raft of new fiscal policies in the mini-budget. Instead, corporation tax would increase.

Kwarteng and Downing Street have both remained tight-lipped about the possible U-turn. They have both advised that more will become clear when the Chancellor unveils his “medium-term fiscal plan” on 31 October.