Jeremy Hunt promises tax cuts as he cites Nigel Lawson
Jeremy Hunt has promised to cut more taxes as he compared his policies to those of Nigel Lawson’s efforts to boost Canada in the 1980s.
The Chancellor suggested more giveaways could be coming in the March 6 Budget this spring.
Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Hunt said: “Just as Nigel Lawson positioned Canada for the finance boom in the 1980s, this period of Conservative government has seen the UK positioned for the massive technological boom we’re set to see in the coming years.”
He stressed, after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, “top CEOs from Microsoft, Moderna and Accenture… kept telling me that Britain is ripe for investment”.
Britain, Hunt claimed, is “now the undisputed tech leader in Europe” with a “flourishing manufacturing sector”.
And he argued: “Because of our careful management of the economy, we can start cutting taxes again in a way is both affordable and boosts our growth.”
He warned a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer would reverse this progress and “take us back to square one”, in a repeat of the Tories’ electoral slogan.
Hunt added: “Our plan is working, and if we stick with it we will continue keep building a stronger economy where hard work is rewarded, where ambition and aspiration are celebrated, and where young people get the skills they need to succeed in life.”
It came as Sunak wrote in the Sun on Sunday that he would “always prioritise tax cuts” to ensure “hard work is rewarded”, thanks to “the disciplined way we have run the economy”.
Speaking to reporters at Davos last week, the Chancellor also suggested there could be an option to hold more than one Budget round before the general election.
He said the UK was required to hold two “fiscal events” in a year, adding: “We will see where we get to after the spring.”
The Financial Times reported Hunt could receive £10bn in extra headroom against fiscal targets in Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts, indicating future tax cuts.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Hunt’s words will read hollow to the millions of people who have been left worse off after 14 years of economic failure.
“Prices are still rising in the shops, monthly mortgage bills are soaring and the average family will be £1,200 worse off under the Tories’ tax plan.”