Business secretary dismisses claim ‘shambolic’ pre-budget uncertainty has caused hit to growth – UK politics live

Peter Kyle defends government as Reeves faces criticism about pre-budget briefings ahead of Wednesday announcementJoel Hills, business and economics editor at ITV News, was not impressed by Peter Kyle’s claim on the Today programme that the pre-budget uncertainty has not been much of a problem for the economy. (See 9.30am.) Hill posted this on social media.The business secretary, Peter Kyle, has just told Today that he “refutes” the assertion that three months of endless leaks, briefings and speculation about which taxes will rise in the Budget has harmed the economy. The governor of the Bank of England is clear that it has.We’ve had month upon month of speculation – fiscal fandango, basically. And that’s been costly for the economy. It’s caused paralysis among business and consumers. It’s the single biggest reason why growth has flatlined, it’s been grounded in the second half of the year.There are a number of data points