Everything’s under control, says Kwasi

You could tell Kwasi Kwarteng was aware of his words and tone as he delivered his Conservative party conference speech to a hall full of Tory members this afternoon. It was a delicate set of circumstances, with him having had to U-turn on his plan to abolish the 45p tax rate only this morning. But perhaps more importantly he learned a lesson after the mini-Budget: his words can move markets. And he’d be loathe to push them into freefall again.

Kwarteng worked hard to compensate for the total lack of lip-service he had paid to fiscal discipline in his mini-Budget. He praised the UK’s status of having the ‘second lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. He affirmed commitment to ‘strong institution framework,’ insisting on the independence of the Bank of England and the role of the Office for Budget responsibility in the upcoming ‘medium-term fiscal plan’, which would set out a ‘strong fiscal anchor’ to keep debt falling in the medium term.

While the Chancellor had to stuff his mini-Budget rabbit back into the hat, he made clear this afternoon that his broader plan for growth remains the core of his Treasury’s agenda, committing once again to a 2.5