Rishi Sunak and the UK Economy Showdown

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is seeking to fill a fiscal shortfall of £35 billion ($41 billion) when he sets out the government’s tax and spending plans next month, officials familiar with the matter said.

The government has drawn up a menu of 104 options to cut spending to get public finances back onto a sustainable track, according to the officials, who cited Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility data from this week.

Asked about the £35 billion figure at a regular briefing on Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman called it “speculative.” Without pushing back against the details, the Treasury said in a statement that “our number one priority is economic stability and restoring confidence that the United Kingdom is a country that pays its way.”

Both Hunt and Sunak -- who took office on Tuesday -- delayed a planned economic statement to Nov. 17 from Oct. 31 to give them time to make what the premier described as the “right decisions” to manage the British economy. The government also upgraded the status of the program from a “medium-term fiscal plan” to an Autumn Statement -- a form of interim mini budget.

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