British finance minister John Healey plans to give his first major speech in his new role next week ahead of his debut budget announcement in October, a person familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.
The speech has been scheduled for Monday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Treasury’s press office declined to comment. News organisation Politico initially reported the speech date.
Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham have kept the fiscal rules adopted by the previous government led by Keir Starmer including a target of balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues by the end of the decade.
However, the margin of error for remaining on course to meet that rule has been reduced by rising borrowing costs in global financial markets, prompting some analysts to say Healey might have to raises taxes in his October 28 budget to stay on track and to fund any extra spending on Burnham’s policy priorities.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and William Schomberg）
