Chancellor 'ponders cancelling Autumn Statement'

The one-two punch that companies must absorb of a Budget followed by an Autumn Statement could soon become a thing of the past, if reported whispers in Whitehall ring true.

In fact, the chancellor is looking at the possibility of abandoning the Autumn Statement, in a bid to move away from “gimmicks” and “micromanagement,” the Financial Times reported.

Based on what Philp Hammond is understood to have told colleagues, the disclosures raise the prospect that tax and spending decisions will be confined to a single Budget in the spring.

But this year’s Autumn Statement will be delivered as normal -- as it has done since it was known as the Pre-Budget Report, allowing Mr Hammond to put his stamp on the economy.

As well as putting in place policies for the UK’s Brexit, the event will give Mr Hammond the opportunity to further differentiate himself from George Osborne, his predecessor.

The first of such moves came shortly after Mr Hammond’s appointment in July, when he cancelled the Brexit Budget, axed Mr Osborne’s deficit reduction target and, more recently, canned pension reforms.