Tax cut pledges a huge gamble, nations' finance ministers warn

Ministers in the devolved UK nations have written to the chancellor seeking an urgent meeting to discuss "reversing the damaging effects of the UK government's tax proposals".

The letter claimed the UK mini-budget was "a huge gamble on public finances".

It has been signed by Scottish Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Northern Irish Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Welsh counterpart, Rebecca Evans.

The Treasury said its priority was to grow the economy.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged to keep an "iron grip" on finances. She has resisted calls to reverse the measures which have since seen the pound slump and forced the Bank of England to step in to reassure markets.

The letter said: "The UK government has chosen to make things significantly worse by announcing a huge package of tax cuts for the most wealthy without any credible explanation of how these will be paid for.

"Urgent action is required now to address the issues facing our economy, public services and households across the country."

Ms Truss has said she was "committed" to publishing the independent fiscal watchdog's economic forecasts and analysis of her tax plans on 23 November, the same day Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is due to set out further economic plans.

The letter added: "With the crisis deepening and the prospects for the economy deteriorating by the day, it is essential that you take action to reverse the damage these policies are causing, for the benefit of all parts of the UK.

"We also seek an urgent quadrilateral meeting with you to discuss this further."

In an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Welsh Secretary Sir Robert Buckland said the position would become clearer when the chancellor unveiled his medium-term fiscal plan next month.

Sir Robert said it would give "a high degree of reassurance to markets that, like its predecessors, this government is absolutely committed to fiscal responsibility".

A Treasury spokesperson said: "Our priority is to grow the economy and raise living standards for everyone.

"We have stepped in with an unprecedented intervention on energy bills to hold costs down for households and businesses this winter, while our Growth Plan will ignite that growth across the UK.

"The Chancellor will set out the government's Medium Term Fiscal Plan alongside an OBR forecast on 23 November, which will build on the commitment to get debt falling as a share of GDP in the medium term."