Treasury minister moves to reassure markets after UK borrowing costs soar
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Treasury chief secretary responds to urgent question in Commons as market turmoil hits pound. Rachel Reeves will not break her promise to borrow money only for investment, even as gilt yields rose to their highest levels since the financial crisis, her deputy has said.
Darren Jones, the Treasury chief secretary, told MPs the chancellor would not borrow to pay for day-to-day spending despite rising UK borrowing costs that threaten to make it much harder for her to meet her fiscal rules. He was answering an urgent question in the Commons about the recent market turmoil, which has sent UK borrowing costs higher, the pound lower and prompted calls for Reeves to cancel her long-planned trip to China.
Jones told the Commons: “There should be no doubt about the government’s commitment to economic stability and sound public finances, this is why meeting the fiscal rules is non-negotiable.”. He added: “[The Conservatives] stacked up the country’s credit card, they’ve left this party to deal with it, and we are going to deal with it. That is why these fiscal rules are non-negotiable.”.
Jones was speaking as concern about UK and global growth rates sent the interest rate for a 10-year government bond further above the highs set in the aftermath of Liz Truss’s “mini-budget” in 2022. The pound has also been hit in the sell-off, dropping to a 14-month low against the dollar on Thursday morning.
