Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng brings forward fiscal plan to Halloween after Tory conference turmoil

The chancellor will bring forward his medium-term fiscal plan after a turbulent initial month for the Government.

Kwasi Kwarteng announced he would make another statement after the pound fell to a record-low against the dollar in the wake of his tax-slashing mini budget.

He said her would outline financial plans in more detail on November 23, accompanied by an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.

But following a series of polls showing Labour surging ahead of the Conservatives ahead of a difficult party conference that saw high-profile figures take jabs at the Prime Minister and her chancellor, the date has been brought forward by more than three weeks to October 31.

Kwarteng announced the change in a letter to the chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee Mel Stride.

It comes as Liz Truss is expected to launch a charm offensive to bridge the divides blighting the Tory party as she faces mounting pressure to raise benefits in line with inflation.

This comes after critics from within the party forced a mid-conference u-turn on slashing income tax for the highest earners.

As MPs file back into Westminster this week, the Prime Minister is expected to hold policy lunches with groups of colleagues and address the 1922 Committee of backbenchers on Wednesday.

A major flashpoint is over benefits, with former chancellor Sajid Javid and Michael Gove adding their voices to growing opposition to proposals to increase payments by less than inflation.

On Friday, trade minister Conor Burns was sacked from his post following a misconduct complaint during the Tory conference.

Burns was asked to leave with “immediate effect” following a complaint of “serious misconduct”, No 10 said.

His sacking comes just a month on and only 31 days into Liz Truss’ new administration.

The Bournemouth West MP has said he will “fully co-operate” with an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him but accused the Tory party of rushing to judgment.

The Prime Minister handed a Burns’ job to Greg Hands, who backed her rival Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership race.