The statement that the chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made to the House of Commons on 23 September was remarkable. By the end of his speech the chancellor had made cuts to eight taxes across 15 measures reducing the government’s tax take by £234bn over the five-year period. The impact per measure and indeed per minute of the speech dwarfed that of his predecessor Rishi Sunak and cost the exchequer more than any Budget since Anthony Barber in 1972.
A further remarkable element was how many changes reversed the choices of Conservative chancellors past. Kwarteng’s speech was littered with references to ‘a new era’ – conveniently ignoring the fact that the chancellor and new prime minister were members of those governments.
The announcements were big bold and brash. The question is whether they will work.
