British Finance Minister George Osborne said on Sunday he would announce further cuts to public spending this week to protect his austerity plan from a weakening of the economy, but said they would not be drastic.
Osborne said the world was facing its most uncertain time since the 2008-2009 financial crisis due to China's slowdown, the oil price fall, interest rate changes in some countries and political instability in the Middle East. He added a decision by Britain to leave the European Union in a referendum in June would also add to uncertainty.
Among the front-runners to replace Prime Minister David Cameron as head of the Conservative Party, Osborne has fostered a reputation for fiscal discipline by aiming to turn Britain's budget deficit into a surplus by 2020.
But that plan may be knocked off course by a slowdown in Britain's economy which grew by 2.2% in 2015, weaker than growth of 2.4% shown by the government's latest budget projections.
With opinion polls showing voters divided almost 50-50 over whether to stay in the European Union, Osborne appears to have shied away from taking radical measures in his budget. Plans to overhaul the pension system, which could have raised billions of pounds to help fix the budget deficit, have been put on hold.
Osborne said on Sunday his budget statement would include action to ensure Britain stuck to his plan to fix its still-weak public finances.
