What does Philip Hammond have planned for the autumn statement?

The City and Westminster are waiting to see what Philip Hammond does in the autumn statement next month. I write in The Sun this morning, that they are looking to see what the new Chancellor’s strategy is for guiding the economy through the uncertainty that will exist until we know what the Brexit deal is. In a private meeting with Tory MPs this week, Hammond gave some indications as to what he plans to do on November 23rd. He was clear that it won’t be a give-away statement. He warned that the deficit remains ‘eye wateringly large’, that the debt to GDP ratio is getting close to the level at which the markets start to get concerned and that there needed to be a discipline on departmental spending to reassure the markets. But, he said, he wanted enough flexibility to step in if the economy did begin to slow down. He was clear that if that was necessary, he would rather borrow to invest in infrastructure than cut VAT.