LONDON —
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will
not make “major fiscal interventions” before leaving office next month, his spokesman
said Monday amid calls for immediate government action to tackle Britain’s
cost-of-living crisis.
اضافة اعلان
Johnson, back at his desk after a five-day belated
honeymoon with wife Carrie in Slovenia last week, has been criticized for being
absent just as the Bank of England warned that a year-long recession is
looming.
His trip coincided with finance minister
Nadhim Zahawi also being away on holiday, as the central bank hiked interest rates by
the biggest margin in nearly three decades in a bid to stem surging inflation.
Johnson, who announced last month that he would step
down on September 6 following a slew of scandals, is set to hand power to
either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak after a summer-long leadership battle.
“By convention, it is not for this prime minister to
make major fiscal interventions during this period,” Johnson’s spokesman told
reporters. “It will be for a future prime minister.”
Johnson’s government had already unveiled several
measures to help people with rising prices, he said, but acknowledged “some of
the global pressures have increased since that was announced”.
Both Truss, the frontrunner to replace him, and
Sunak have vowed to tackle Britain’s spiraling inflation rate and worsening
economic landscape from their first day in office.
But figures from across the political spectrum have
been demanding more urgent moves — including former prime minister Gordon Brown
on Monday.
“When I say people have been asleep at the wheel,
it’s not true — they’ve not been at the wheel,” Brown told LBC radio, as he
toured various broadcast studios to highlight the worsening cost-of-living
situation.
“That’s the problem. And we’ve got to get them back
to work to take the action that is necessary,” he said, adding: “it’s not good
enough acting in September or October.”
Downing Street last week refused to confirm Johnson’s
honeymoon destination, but insisted he was still at the helm, rather than
handing over temporarily to Deputy Prime Minister
Dominic Raab.
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