IMF praises UK as G7's model pupil on debt but warns Healey his Budget headroom has HALVED to £12bn
John Healey and Andy Burnham share a pint. The IFS has warned Chancellor John Healey his 28 October Budget risks becoming a "work of fiction" without credible measures to plug a £35 billion spending gap.
The IMF has handed Chancellor John Healey a rare endorsement at its Bangkok annual meeting, with managing director Kristalina Georgieva singling out Britain as the only G7 nation with a serious plan to cut annual borrowing — a stand-out moment after years of the UK languishing on bond markets' naughty step since the Truss mini-budget. But the praise comes laced with an urgent warning: IMF economists say delaying further debt reduction will only make the adjustment more painful, casting doubt on hopes for a quiet 'steady as she goes' Budget on October 28.
Healey's fiscal headroom is reportedly estimated to have halved from £24bn to roughly £12bn since the spring, squeezed by bond market turmoil.
IMF chief economist Silvana Tenreyro told the BBC that UK borrowing reductions 'stand out' among advanced economies, while the US, Germany and Japan are all increasing borrowing.
