Leveling Up secretary Michael Gove ruled out an emergency budget from Rishi Sunak and said Boris Johnson’s proposal to help families in difficulty had been “overinterpreted”.
Michael Gove says there will be no emergency budget
A senior minister has ruled out an emergency budget to ease the cost of living crisis – despite Boris Johnson hinting at help for struggling Britons.
Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove said there would be no crisis statement from Chancellor Rishi Sunak but insisted ministers would do more to help families in need.
Households face skyrocketing energy bills, inflation is forecast to hit 10%, and benefits and wages are struggling to keep up with rising prices.
The Prime Minister hinted that the Government is ready to unveil emergency living aid shortly during a speech debate by the Queen on Tuesday.
He told the House of Commons that he and the Chancellor “would say more about aid to households that are under pressure in the coming days”.Boris Johnson suggested that most living expenses would come
But Treasury sources immediately distanced Mr Sunak from the idea – and Mr Gove was sent on the airwaves to say the PM’s offer of help had been “overinterpreted”.
When asked if there would be an emergency budget, he told Sky News: “There will be no emergency budget.
“Sometimes the words of the prime minister or a minister are overinterpreted.
“The Prime Minister is right, we will say more and do more to help people with cost of living challenges they are facing.
“But it doesn’t have to be an emergency budget. It’s part of government work.
“Last night the Prime Minister convened a group of ministers – we were all working on some things we could do to help. These policy initiatives will be announced in due course by each department as they are finalized.
“It’s part of the process for a government that is always and everywhere thinking about how we can help and support, both in the short and long term.”
He also downplayed claims of a split between Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak because the need for an emergency budget was “inflated”.Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the Prime Minister’s comments had been “overinterpreted”.
Mr Gove BBC Breakfast: “It’s an example of some commentators chasing their own tails and trying to make a sensible statement and turn it into a ‘big’ all caps ‘big news story’.
“If the Treasury Department is right to say ‘reassured,’ rather than realizing they exaggerated the story in the first place, people are saying ‘Oh, that’s definitely a split.’
“The truth is that the Prime Minister says ‘The government is working hard’ and the Treasury says ‘Yes we are doing that and I’m afraid the budget will be as we said it will be’. Is this going to be a story? No.”
It comes after Welsh Minister Simon Hart intensified speculation about further aid after he said the cost of living crisis was “now the most important challenge” in Britain and that Cabinet would discuss how to solve it this week .
He told TalkTv: “You’ll probably hear more on Thursday after the Cabinet meeting.
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“This is now the most important challenge facing not only this nation but many other nations as well.
“That’s the thing that will occupy every waking hour of every politician.”
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: “Talking is cheap. Tory tax hikes are expensive.
“A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Christine Jardine branded the situation a “complete mess”.
She said: “Millions of families and pensioners are struggling to survive. They need more help now before things get worse in the fall.
“Instead, all we get from this Conservative government is chaos and confusion.
“Now an emergency budget is needed to cut taxes on ordinary families while taxing the super profits of the oil and gas companies.”