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Advance UK News Diary

November 14-20: Autumn Statement, World Cup begins, and Biden meets Xi

Jeremy Hunt
November 11, 2022
  • Slice 1

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.

Leading the week 

Jeremy Hunt will continue the fine tradition of recent chancellors when he holds a major fiscal event just weeks into the job, and the Autumn Statement Hunt delivers on Thursday (November 17) is likely to be just as consequential as Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget or Rishi Sunak’s first pandemic-era announcements. Hunt will unveil a beefed-up version of the fiscal plan promised by his immediate predecessor in the wake of the market-crashing September budget, with a full evaluation of the public finances from the OBR due alongside the new chancellor’s tax and spend plans. 

Hunt has been following the Sunak playbook by drip-feeding content to media in the lead up to the event itself, so we already have a good idea of what to expect from the chancellor’s speech when he steps up to the dispatch box next week: action on tax thresholds, with a potential return for the 50p rate; a new windfall tax on energy firms’ profits to help with household bills; confirmation of public sector pay rates; and a decision on the uprating of benefits and pensions from next year. 

While the content of the statement may not be much of a surprise, the devil will be entirely in the detail for Hunt as he attempts to balance the books and fill a financial black hole which some estimates put as high as £60 billion. Amid the fiscal difficulties, the political implications of this event should not be forgotten: rumblings of discontent on the backbenches over potentially manifesto-busting tax rises could easily flare up into another Conservative civil war at a time when the government desperately needs to project stability, particularly at a time when Rishi Sunak’s judgment is already being called into question. 

FIFA and Qatar World Cup flags

The most controversial World Cup in living memory finally kicks off on Sunday (November 20) as hosts Qatar face Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium. The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by criticisms of the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ and human rights, with disgraced former FIFA President Sepp Blatter admitting that awarding the tournament to the gulf state was ‘a mistake’. The treatment of migrant construction workers in particular has come under intense scrutiny, as estimates suggest some 6,500 labourers have lost their lives – a figure dismissed by Qatari authorities.  

Qatar has spent an eye-watering $200 billion to stage the tournament, a figure which dwarfs the total spend of the last eight World Cups combined. As part of its preparations, the country has built seven air-conditioned stadiums, a new airport, a metro system, and around 100 new hotels to house fans. With so many issues already hanging over the tournament before a ball has even been kicked, FIFA will be hoping that their gamble to stage a first World Cup on Middle Eastern soil pays off.


Looking abroad 

It’s a busy week for Rishi Sunak: while Jeremy Hunt is putting the finishing touches on the Autumn Statement, Sunak will be in Bali for the G20 Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday (November 15-16). While Sunak won’t have to make good on his plans to ‘confront’ Vladimir Putin at the gathering after Moscow confirmed the Russian president won’t be attending, he will get a chance to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden (Wednesday) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.

Leaders will look to find solutions to the global cost of living and energy crises, with a virtual address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky helping to focus minds on the root of so much of the disruption. The summit coverage, however, is likely to be dominated by China after the White House announced that Biden will hold his first in-person talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday (November 14). The long-awaited meeting comes at a particularly tense time for relations between Washington and Beijing, and Biden has said he’s hoping to get an understanding of Xi’s ‘red lines’ and discuss Taiwan.

Xi Jinping stands near Chinese flag
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with US President Joe Biden on Monday.

Following a decidedly underwhelming Republican performance in Tuesday’s midterms, next week is shaping up to be a potentially important one as attention now turns to the 2024 presidential race. At the time of writing, former President Donald Trump has announced no changes to his plans to make a ‘very big announcement’ at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday (November 15) on another run for the White House, though reports suggest he is under pressure to postpone, possibly until after the December 6 run-off in the Georgia Senate race. Trump also faces another decision next week: whether to comply with the subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 Committee requiring him to sit down for a deposition on Monday (November 14) to answer questions under oath on the storming of the US Capitol in 2021.


 

Also look out for...

November 14

Home Office Qs in the Commons 

Michael Gove addresses CPS Margaret Thatcher conference 

Church of England General Synod meeting 

Vote on Ukraine reparations resolution at UNGA 

EU foreign ministers meet 

COP27 Gender Day & Water Day 

November 15

COP27 High-Level Segment resumes 

James Cleverly at committee on EU relationship 

Kathryn Stone gives evidence to Committee on Standards 

IEA publishes report on coal and net zero 

Ballot closes for RMT strike mandate renewal 

November 16

UK inflation figures 

NASA Artemis I launch attempt 

Steve Barclay addresses NHS Providers Conference 

Andrew Bailey at committee session on BoE monetary policy reports 

Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner at Deputy PMQs 

COP27 Biodiversity Day 

November 17

Tom Tugendhat sentenced for using phone while driving 

Verdict in Dutch MH17 trial 

APEC Ministerial Meeting 

IAEA Board of Governors Meeting 

November 18

Jeremy Hunt interviewed on the Today programme 

Ursula von der Leyen addresses IISS Manama Dialogue 

Emmanuel Macron and Kamala Harris at APEC CEO Summit 

Benjamin Netanyahu and Mike Pence at RCJ Leadership Meeting 

November 19

Francophonie Summit 

Snap parliamentary elections in Malaysia 

England v New Zealand Autumn Nations Series 

November 20

Elections in Kazakhstan, Equatorial Guinea and Nepal 

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel’s final F1 race 

Joe Biden turns 80 

Statistics, reports and results

November 14

Resolution Foundation report on energy costs 

Northern Ireland Boundary Commission proposals (this week) 

OPEC monthly oil market report 

November 15

UK Labour Market statistics (unemployment) 

Universal Credit statistics 

EU and Japan Q3 GDP 

China monthly economic data 

Results from: Vodafone, Walmart, Imperial Tobacco, Land Securities 

November 16

UK House Price Index 

Private housing rental prices 

Results from: SSE, Tencent Holdings, Experian Group, British Land 

November 17

HMICFRS report on police vetting and counter-corruption 

Annual figures on children looked after by local authorities in England 

Quarterly knife crime statistics 

Annual figures on affordable housing supply  

EU inflation statistics 

Landmine Monitor Report 2022 

Results from: Royal Mail Group, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Gap Stores, Burberry 

November 18

UK Retail Sales 

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

November 14

Anti-bullying week (to November 18) 

Road Safety Week (to November 20) 

Living Wage Week (to November 20) 

Switch-Off Fortnight (to November 27) 

King Charles III turns 74 

100 years ago: first BBC radio broadcast 

November 15

Steve Irwin Day 

Day of the Imprisoned Writer 

November 16

UK Disability History Month (to December 16) 

November 17

World Prematurity Day 

Social Enterprise Day 

National Unfriend Day 

November 18

Independence Day (Morocco) 

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (to November 24) 

November 19

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day 

World Toilet Day 

International Men’s Day 

One year ago: woman held powers of US Presidency for first time 

November 20

Equal Pay Day 

Universal Children’s Day 

International Transgender Day of Remembrance 

One month ago: Liz Truss announced resignation 

75 years ago: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip married 


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