Transport secretary Grant Shapps has hinted that the Budget scheduled for March 11 may be pushed back after Sajid Javid’s resignation as chancellor last week.
Speaking to the BBC, Shapps indicated that the date may be changed to give new chancellor Rishi Sunak ample time to prepare.
Shapps said: "The guy's only been in place for a few days, let's give him a few days to decide on the date.”
Shapps also told Sophy Ridge of Sky News that plans for the Budget were “well advanced”, but hinted that the new chancellor “may want time”.
A further delay would be the second time that the Budget has had to be postponed in recent months, after Javid had cancelled a date set for November to accommodate December’s general election.
The former chancellor stood down during Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle, after refusing to sack his advisers as a condition for staying in post.
Javid's decision to step down has only fuelled speculation that there were tensions between the former chancellor and Johnson's senior adviser Dominic Cummings.
Javid said afterwards: “I felt I was left with no option but to resign”.
A joint-team of economic advisers for the chancellor and prime minister will now be established, Downing Street announced following the reshuffle.
