U.K.’s Javid Sets March 11 Date for Budget to Deliver on Pledges

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid promised to unleash “a decade of renewal” when he outlines his budget on March 11 as he seeks to ready the U.K. for its departure from the European Union.Javid’s office said he will make good on pledges to cut taxes and spread opportunity as he announced the date for the statement, postponed from November. He will build on plans outlined during the election campaign to increase borrowing for investment by jettisoning government fiscal rules to allow the U.K. to capitalize on low interest rates, the Treasury said.Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won a commanding 80-seat majority in Parliament last month after promising to deliver Brexit and boost public spending on hospitals, police and infrastructure. The premier now needs to deliver if he’s to cement the support of voters in blue-collar areas who’ve traditionally voted for the opposition Labour Party but switched to back his program on Dec. 12.“People across the country have told us that they want change. We’ve listened and will now deliver,” Javid said in an email. “With this Budget we will unleash Britain’s potential -- uniting our great country, opening a new chapter for our economy and ushering in a decade of renewal.”The new fiscal rules, outlined by the chancellor in November, commit Johnson’s government to balancing the day-to-day budget and limiting investment to 3% of gross domestic product -- compared to 2% under current restrictions. That would allow an extra 20 billion pounds ($26.3 billion) a year to be spent on capital projects such as railways and roads, though Javid said the plans for extra borrowing would be reassessed if debt-servicing costs rise significantly.The chancellor will update cabinet colleagues on his plans Tuesday morning before answering questions in Parliament from 2:30 p.m., his office said.During the election campaign, Johnson and Javid’s Tories promised that rates of income tax, national insurance and VAT wouldn’t rise and said they would increase the threshold for paying national insurance, an employment tax, to 9,500 pounds from 8,628 pounds in their first budget.Javid will announce measures to help the environment alongside investment in new hospitals, police officers and in-work training in his March 11 statement to Parliament, his office said.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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