Sajid Javid ramps up Brexit pressure by saying budget will be first after UK leaves EU

Sajid Javid has announced the government will hold a budget on 6 November, less than a week after a possible no-deal departure from the EU.

In an attempt to ramp up pressure during 11th-hour Brexit talks and as an election looms, the chancellor said the set-piece tax and spending event would be the first since the UK left the EU.

“I will be setting out our plan to shape the economy for the future and triggering the start of our infrastructure revolution. This is the right and responsible thing to do – we must get on with governing,” he said.

While hopes of a deal surged last week and the government has been ordered by parliament to request an extension under the Benn act, failure to reach an agreement before 31 October would force Javid to take immediate action to support the economy, meaning the full budget would be delayed beyond 6 November.

With days to go before the deadline for Boris Johnson to clinch a Brexit deal, news of the budget comes before the Queen on Monday sets out his government’s priorities for a new session of parliament.

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The prime minister has pledged to increase spending on health, schools and policing. Johnson has also promised sweeping tax cuts that could be outlined at the budget. Economists have said the proposed income tax changes would benefit the richest most.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has also warned that Johnson and Javid risk lifting Britain’s national debt to levels unseen since the mid-1960s, should they implement their spending plans in full and be required to unleash emergency action after a no-deal Brexit.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish National party leader, said the announcement of the budget date was “an example of the government making things up as it goes along”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “I’m not sure they’ll still be in office on 6 November.”