In the latter stages of the EU referendum campaign, Chancellor George Osborne, a leading remain proponent, told voters drastic measures could be required in an emergency Budget if the UK opted to leave.
But this morning, in a speech to reassure the markets, he indicated there that would be no such move.
Critics on the leave side of the argument had dubbed his warning of emergency measures as a ‘punishment Budget’ and many MPs from his own party had already said they would vote it down if it came to that.
But AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby cautioned this morning that it is likely such a Budget may have been merely put on ice for the time being.
He said: “While exceptional circumstances may well require radical solutions, instant austerity through a knee-jerk ‘punishment Budget’ could have further destabilised an already febrile economy.
“However, this is likely a stay of execution rather than a full-on reprieve. If the economic warnings of the Treasury, Bank of England, OECD and others are proved correct, the next Prime Minister and his or her Chancellor will eventually need to wield the axe or raise taxes to balance the books.
“There are a series of options available to the Government, but each is politically unpalatable. For example, cuts to pension tax relief or removing the state pension triple-lock would raise billions, but risk angering core Conservative voters.
“Equally, raising taxes on those in work would add insult to injury for younger generations, many of whom voted for the UK to remain in the EU.”
Claire Trott, head of pensions technical, at Talbot and Muir said: “We welcome the confirmation that there won’t be an immediate Budget because it would have increased uncertainty in an already uncertain time. I feel that with all the other issues on the table at present we may actually see some stability in pensions legislation that we have all longed for, for many years.”
She said: “The Chancellor in his statement has called for calm and this should be taken very seriously, now is not the time to go and do anything rash especially with regards to pensions. Pensions are a long term saving vehicle and short term blips in markets and changes in Government should not determine what people are doing.”