Jeremy Hunt thought he was being pranked

When Jeremy Hunt received a message early yesterday morning from a ‘Liz Truss’ wanting to talk to him, he assumed he was being pranked. He later found out it was indeed the prime minister and she wanted to make him Chancellor. He has totally reset her economic policy this morning, so maybe the prank is on her.

I have just interviewed him, and what he told me is that in what he now says will in effect be a ‘full budget’ on 31 October, he will announce public spending plans that are lower than those previously announced (otherwise known as spending cuts), plus tax rises and some taxes not falling as fast as hoped (that promised 1p reduction in the basic rate of tax is at risk). 

There will be a panoply of painful consolidating measures to eliminate a black hole in the public finances that is probably still £40 billion even after yesterday’s u-turn decision to increase corporation tax to raise £18 billion.