Chancellor: no emergency Budget following Brexit vote

27 Jun 2016

Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that an immediate emergency Budget will not take place following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union (EU).

In his first speech after the referendum result, the Chancellor said the economy was ‘going to have to adjust to the new situation we find ourselves in’, but he added that it was ‘perfectly sensible to wait for a new Prime Minister’ and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) autumn forecasts before taking any action.

Following the referendum result, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he will resign from his post, with effect from October.

Mr Osborne also argued that Britain is ready to ‘confront what the future holds for us from a position of strength’.

The statement came as the consequences of the vote to leave continue to take effect on the UK’s economy and its banking industry: shares remain unstable, with the FTSE 100 index down by 0.4%.  

Additionally, in the aftermath of the vote, the pound fell to its lowest level since 1985.

Mr Osborne had previously stated that the Government had to ‘fix the roof so that we were prepared for whatever the future held’.

In reference to this, the Chancellor said that the UK economy ‘is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces’.

Mr Osborne’s statement was made in an effort to calm the financial markets following uncertainty generated by the Brexit vote. In order to help the stock markets, the Chancellor revealed that he had been in communication with European finance ministers, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the US Treasury Secretary.

Furthermore, in the wake of the decision, Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), said that extensive contingency plans had been made in preparation of a leave vote. Mr Osborne confirmed that the BoE has set aside funds of £250 billion to support the UK’s banks and markets.