Tag: Caroline Nokes

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, has said that if the UK were to follow the advice of some Brexiters and refuse to pay anything to the EU in the event of a no deal Brexit, it would not be seen as a reliable partner for international trade. Philip Hammond told the committee earlier that, if the UK refused to pay anything to the EU in the event of a no deal Brexit - an option proposed by some Brexiters - it would not be seen as a reliable partner in future trade deals. No, says Hammond. No, says Hammond. Q: Why did you implement the tax cuts a year earlier than promised in the Tory manifesto? Hammond says the UK would have some leverage, in terms of when money was paid. Q: If there is a no deal Brexit, will all the budget spending commitments be honoured? Hammond suggests that, if there is no Brexit deal, spending commitments made in this year’s budget could be abandoned. But he told the House of Commons Treasury committee that the goal of balancing the nation’s books was “within touching distance”, with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting the deficit will be trimmed to 0.8% of GDP by 2023/24. Rather than making reducing the deficit the overriding goal of economic policy, it would be a matter for the chancellor at each budget over the next few years to strike a balance between getting borrowing down and other priorities like cutting taxes, increasing public spending and investing in the national infrastructure, he suggested.