Rishi Sunak to unveil Britain’s first post-Brexit budget

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today unveil the country’s first post-Brexit budget, a plan that aims to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure and economy.

The 2020 budget will likely cut taxes for low-income workers and raise the minimum wage over several years. Sunak is also expected to rewrite fiscal rules to allow spending of up to $26 billion a year in road, rail and other infrastructure, key planks of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 2019 election campaign.

Johnson hopes government spending to upgrade infrastructure and public services and direct investment in less-developed north and central England will invigorate a post-Brexit UK economy. However, the rapidly expanding threat of the coronavirus pandemic means the government will have to set aside cash to fund test centres, purchase medical equipment and recruit healthcare workers.

The new budget will empower Johnson’s Conservative government to make good on promises to upgrade the UK’s rail and road networks and bolster public services. However, the economic damage caused by coronavirus and the resources allocated to manage it will likely curb the UK’s growth rates in the short-term and undermine the narrative of the Conservative’s radical new budget.

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