New Chancellor vows against rumoured Brexit “punishment” Budget

THE NEW Chancellor yesterday killed off talk of a Brexit ‘punishment’ Budget – and vowed to do everything to keep the recovery on track.

On his first full day in No.11, Philip Hammond said the Treasury would detail its next round of big decisions “in the usual way” in an Autumn Statement.

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Just last month, George Osborne warned Brits that an Out vote would trigger an emergency Budget packed with £30 billion of tax hikes and spending cuts.

But Mr Hammond said: “We will want to work closely with the governor of the Bank of England and others through the summer to prepare for the Autumn Statement.

“When we will signal and set out the plans for the economy going forward in what are very different circumstances that we now face. And then those plans will be implemented in the Budget in the spring in the usual way.”

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Speaking before a meeting with Bank of England governor Mark Carney, he did hint the new Government may take advantage of cut-price interest rates to borrow more to invest – thereby scrapping George Osborne’s previous rules.

But he added: “This country is already highly indebted and we need to be very careful about the signal we send to markets about our intentions.”

Mr Hammond – a Remain campaigner – defended his own ‘Project Fear’ warnings from before the Referendum vote. He said there has been a “chilling effect” on the economy, from businesses deciding to delay big investment decisions.

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But he said the country was “immeasurably stronger” because the Tory leadership race had been resolved now – rather than as originally expected on September 9.

“What we’ve done over the last couple of weeks is move with significant speed to put in place a new government, which can start to deliver that certainty about the future.”

“The markets do need signals of reassurance, they need to know we will do whatever is necessary to keep the economy on track.”