Leader comment: Enough guesswork '“ Chancellor must offer guidance on government's Brexit strategy

Philip Hammond's task will be to present an Autumn Statement which is not completely redundant in six months time. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

The annual Autumn Statement may soon be part of political history, if the UK government decides to do away with the opportunity to publicly deliver an update on economic policy. The argument is that the Budget provides ample opportunity to set out plans every year, and a revision six months later only provides the Treasury with an unwelcome distraction.

Philip Hammond must wish the statement had been done away with already, as he prepares to make his first set-piece pronouncement on the economy since becoming chancellor in the summer, because right now, more than ever before, economic forecasting is a minefield. For every expert who gives an opinion on what the consequences of leaving the EU will be, there is another who will give the opposite view. We just do not know what is coming.

Hammond therefore is at the mercy of seismic events which have yet to unfold. His task will be to present an Autumn Statement which is not completely redundant in six months’ time. And if he achieves that, he will have reason for some satisfaction, because it will be an improvement on the recent fate of his predecessor George Osborne.