I remain bemused by why @BorisJohnson and @sajidjavid want a budget on 6 November, because it will necessitate the OBR for the first time making a forecast based on Johnson's preferred scenario, namely a bog standard free trade agreement with the EU, or Canada minus. And...
it is inconceivable that OBR will do anything but scale down growth forecasts and revise up borrowing forecasts on that basis. So why would Johnson and Javid want those negative forecasts and figures in the public domain when a general election may take place shortly...
afterwards? This looks like a gift to the opposition parties, especially Labour, which will be able to say that the government's own forecasters say that Johnson's version of Brexit makes us poorer than either Theresa May's version of Brexit or remaining in EU. All a bit odd
