Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, leave No 10 yesterday. Official figures show that the deficit dropped to its lowest August level in a decade as VAT receipts hit record highs and day-to-day spending by the state declined. If present trends persist, economists said that borrowing for the whole of 2017-18 could be £10 billion less than projections in March. Capital Economics said that the undershoot — below the official £58.3 billion budget deficit forecast — could reach £13 billion, giving a boost to Philip Hammond when he delivers the budget on November 22. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PWC, said lower borrowing would give Mr…

Source: The Times September 21, 2017 23:04 UTC