FTSE 100 Live: OBR chiefs face MP grilling; Food inflation slows
Good morning and welcome back to the CityAM liveblog.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) admitted its “worst failure in the 15-year history” of the fiscal watchdog on Monday. This morning, from 10am, two of its remaining spokespeople will be facing a grilling from the Treasury select committee of MPs.
The sensational leak of the OBR’s economic forecast – which made the rounds nearly an hour before Rachel Reeves took to the despatch box to deliver her Budget – was the result of a technical error, an inquiry concluded.
Hours later Richard Hughes, the watchdog’s chair, resigned in a move he said would allow the body to “quickly move on” from the leak.
It’s another layer of drama surrounding the watchdog, with a members of its committee expected to appear before the Treasury Select Committee today.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also took a swipe at the OBR on Monday in a speech designed to defend the choices made in the Budget.
He called the leak a “massive discourtesy” to Parliament and took a shot at the timing of the productivity review, which left the government with a £16bn downgrade.
“I’m not angry at the productivity review…” Starmer said, before adding he was “bemused why it wasn’t done at the end” of the Conservative’s tenure.
The Prime Minister said it would have been “sensible” to release as the Tories left office.
Gilt yields managed to steer steady over the course of the day even as Starmer was pressed on “misleading” the country over public finances.
But the looming Treasury Committee sessions for both the Chancellor and OBR dare to bring a fresh batch of twists-and-turns to an already soap-opera Budget.
We’ll be bringing you the latest news and analysis.
In the meantime, here’s a few of our top stories from yesterday:
- Voters’ verdict: Tax hikes breach manifesto and Reeves should resign
- Zipcar UK to shut operations ahead of new London EV Congestion Charge
- Starmer denies misleading public as fresh row with OBR erupts
- Blockbuster FTSE merger abandoned after shareholder fury
- Banks gear up for boost with loosening of capital rules