UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s freshly re-elected government is seeking to hold its first budget in March, rewriting spending rules as it does so, according to a person familiar with the matter. Chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid was forced to scrap his planned Autumn budget because of this month’s snap election. A rescheduled event wasn’t expected until after the UK left the European Union on January 31st, with some speculation it would happen as early as February. Johnson’s top adviser Dominic Cummings has also criticised Treasury spending rules for favouring London and the South East. Ahead of the Spring budget, the Treasury will change the formula used in its so-called “green book”, which guides investment decisions on everything from infrastructure to business development.

Source: The Irish Times December 27, 2019 15:22 UTC