While the chancellor was celebrating the news from the ONS that the UK is officially out of recession, the Today programme host kicked off the interview by saying: “It’s not a strong recovery is it?
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“Some people would call it anaemic. You’re not calling it strong are you?
“That’s not what it is. The economy has barely grown over the last two years.”
Hunt claimed over the last quarter, the UK had the joint-highest growth in the G7– and then blamed slow growth on the Bank of England’s high interest rates.
Husain hit back: “You’re portraying yourself as the people in whose hands the economy is safe, and yet many voters, particularly those who are perhaps finding themselves re-mortgaging this month on higher rates and seeing the facts that fixed rate mortgage deals have been edging up – and others – will be remembering what happened under Liz Truss and that mini-budget.
“And they’ll say: ‘How can you possibly, after the events of the last two and half years, portray yourself as the party of economy competence?’”
Sunak’s predecessor unveiled £45bn of unfunded tax cuts in her mini-budget in 2022, causing the pound to plummet.
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“Well, there were some mistakes that were made in that mini-budget and we corrected them within weeks,” the chancellor said.
He also pointed to the energy shock triggered by the Ukraine war and said it was “just wrong” to attribute all price rises to the mini-budget.
“But, it wasn’t economically competent, was it, to do that?” Husain pushed. “And do you accept that it’s fair for voters to go into the next election, remembering that happened under the Conservatives?”
Hunt said the “overall picture” shows that the UK has grown faster than France, Germany, Italy and Japan since the Conservatives took over in 2010.
He also pointed to the IMF’s predictions that the UK would continue to grow faster over the next six years.
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He failed to mention that the think tank OECD predicted last week the UK would be the second slowest-growing economy in 2024, and the slowest in 2025.
Hunt maintained that voters support the Conservative Party because “they trust us to take tough and difficult decisions in the long-term interest of the economy”.
“You’re asking us to ignore Liz Truss, aren’t you? To say Liz Truss never happened,” Husain said – which Hunt denied.
Jeremy Hunt will cut another 2p off national insurance as he mounts a last-ditch attempt to prevent a Tory meltdown at the general election.
The chancellor will unveil the move as part of a “Budget for long-term growth” that he hopes will turn around the Conservative’s miserable poll numbers with speculation mounting the voters could go to the polls in May.
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But he has ruled out the cuts to income tax demanded by Tory MPs and thought to be favoured by Rishi Sunak.
Treasury officials say that taken together, the two reductions in national insurance will leave an average earner around £900 better off.
The chancellor will tell MPs: “In recent times the UK economy has dealt with a financial crisis, a pandemic and an energy shock caused by a war on the European continent.
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“Yet despite the most challenging economic headwinds in modern history, under Conservative governments since 2010 growth has been higher than every large European economy.
“Unemployment has halved, absolute poverty has gone down, and there are 800 more people in jobs for every single day we’ve been in office.
“Of course, interest rates remain high as we bring down inflation. But because of the progress we’ve made because we are delivering on the prime minister’s economic priorities we can now help families with permanent cuts in taxation.
“We do this not just to give help where it is needed in challenging times. But because Conservatives know lower tax means higher growth. And higher growth means more opportunity and more prosperity.”
Hunt will add: “Our plans mean more investment, more jobs, more productive public services and lower taxes – sticking to our plan in a Budget for long term growth.”
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The latest cutting national insurance by 2p in the pound will cost the Treasury around £10 billion a year, paid for by a combination of tax rises and spending cuts.
Hunt is expected to scrap the “non-dom” tax status enjoyed by wealthy foreigners living in the UK in a move which could raise up to £3.2 billion, while he is also set to extend the windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms.
A tax on vaping products is also expected to raise much-needed cash for the Treasury.
Hunt is expected to extend the 5p cut in fuel duty, first announced by Sunak in 2022 when he was still chancellor, at a cost of £5bn to the Treasury.
The chancellor is also set to usher in a new wave of austerity by slowing down the rate at which public spending goes up in future from 1% a year in real terms to 0.75%. That would save the government around £5 billion.
However, Hunt will defend this approach by insisting: “An economy based on sound money does not pass on its bills to the next generation.”
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He will say Labour have “opposed our plans to reduce the deficit every step of the way”.
The chancellor will add: “With the pandemic behind us, we must once again be responsible and increase our resilience to future shocks. That means bringing down borrowing so we can start to reduce our debt.”
But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves accused the Tories of presiding over “fourteen years of economic failure”.
“The Conservatives promised to fix the nation’s roof, but instead they have smashed the windows, kicked the door in and are now burning the house down,” she said.
“Taxes are rising, prices are still going up in the shops and we have been hit by recession. Nothing the chancellor says or does can undo the economic vandalism of the Conservatives over the past decade.
“The country needs change, not another failed Budget or the risk of five more years of Conservative chaos.”
The chancellor was speaking to journalists on Sunday ahead of the unveiling of his Spring Budget later this week, an annual event where the government outlines its plans for taxes and spending.
Hunt refused to reveal any particular policies he has lined up before his announcement on Wednesday – but he did repeatedly suggest that the public can trust the Tories with the economy.
He told Sky News: “I do want to show people in an election year that eternal truth that Labour governments spend more and tax more, Conservative governments spend more wisely and try to bring the tax burden down.”
“We’ve been very consistent, that we would only cut taxes in a way that was responsible and prudent,” he said, adding that he would not be announcing any “gimmicks” this week.
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But, in the last four years, five different Tory chancellors have pledged to bring taxes down – only for them to rise to a historic level.
As Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, pointed out: “It is the Tories who have raised taxes to their highest level in 70 years.
“No matter what the chancellor does in the Budget this week, working people will be worse off thanks to 14 years of Tory failure.”
Jeremy Hunt’s problem is this. Tory rule supposed to be about financial prudence. All they’ve done is rack up debt, spaffed billions on Brexit and their mates, and the Tories who voted for them on the basis of tax cuts have never been taxed so much. The party has lost its USP.
Jeremy Hunt, who is on course to raise taxes in the UK to their highest level since the Second World War, tells Sky News that it is an “eternal truth” that Conservative governments “bring the tax burden down.” pic.twitter.com/DxXPgcbWmt
Left: Jeremy Hunt, “Labour govs spend more and tax more, Conservative govs spend more wisely and bring tax burden down”
Right: Sky News, “In the last four years, five chancellors says they want to cut taxes. In reality the opposite has happened. Taxes have been rising to near… pic.twitter.com/bpJOtjhV4W
Just after 12.30 on Wednesday afternoon, Rishi Sunak will step aside from the Despatch Box and make way for Jeremy Hunt.
With the prime minister sitting just behind him on the government frontbench, the chancellor will then deliver a Budget which will make the political, as well as the economic, weather for the months leading up to the general election.
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It is not overstating things to suggest that the contents of Hunt’s red box will determine whether or not the Tories have any chance at all of a record-breaking fifth term in office.
Many Conservative MPs already believe that the game is up, the party is heading for opposition and there is nothing the chancellor can announce to change that fundamental truth.
“I don’t think he can do anything now to change the game because the game cannot be changed,” one gloomy former Tory minister told HuffPost UK.
“The Budget won’t really make any significant difference now to our chances of winning, therefore he should do some things that are attractive to Conservative voters, like reform inheritance tax, boost home ownership and help small businesses. I don’t think cuts to income tax would make any difference.”
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The best thing Hunt can do, some Tories believe, is produce a Budget that appeals to the Tory base and ensures that as many of their MPs as possible survive when voters deliver their verdict later this year.
One veteran MP said: “What they should be thinking about is maxing the number of Tory MPs who come back after the election so we at least have a chance of getting back into government after one parliament.
“Labour have shown you can do that with 200 MPs, but with 150 it’s impossible.”
Other Tories are more optimistic, but warn that Rishi Sunak must not allow Hunt to waste this opportunity to change the political weather.
One senior Tory MP told HuffPost UK: “Rishi needs to own this Budget, not Hunt. The prime minister has more of a political instinct than the chancellor.
“This Budget is the last chance to start to reverse Labour’s dominance in the polls. The Budget must not be hijacked by an over-cautious Treasury.
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“Number 10 needs to make sure the Budget is politically smart – not just economically smart.”
Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt sre under pressure to deliver.
IAN FORSYTH via Getty Images
Former cabinet minister Damian Green, now chair of the One Nation group of moderate Tories, said: “The chancellor must seize the opportunity he has at the Budget to cut taxes, drive growth and put more money back into hardworking, ordinary people’s pockets.
“This is our chance to demonstrate to voters that we are on their side and that we are taking steps to alleviate pressures they face in all aspects of everyday lives. If we fail to do so, we risk the damaging consequences of a Labour government.”
In January, Hunt sought to compare himself with the Thatcher-era chancellor Nigel Lawson, suggesting that big tax cuts were coming.
Since then, however, the mood music coming out of the Treasury has changed, with sources confirming that there is less money available than previously hoped to pay for pre-election giveaways.
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Hunt could even be forced to steal two of Labour’s flagship policies – scrapping non-dom tax status for wealthy foreigners and increasing the windfall tax on energy firms – to raise the money needed to cut either national insurance or income tax.
One Tory MP suggested that Hunt “cut and run” by producing a voter-friendly Budget before a May general election.
This would, though, fly in the face of Sunak’s previous declaration that the election would come in the second of the year.
Nevertheless, Labour campaign chiefs Morgan McSweeney and Pat McFadden this week gave a presentation to the shadow cabinet setting out why they believe a May poll is still “in play”.
One source said: “If they deliver a tax-cutting Budget and the economy looks like it’s starting to pick up, May could be the optimum time for the Tories to go to the country and still have some control over events.
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“If Sunak leaves it till the end of the year it looks as if they are holding on till the bitter end, and as we saw with John Major in 1997 and Gordon Brown in 2010, that doesn’t usually end well for the government.”
Voters will see a lot more of Angela Rayner during the election campaign.
Ian Forsyth via Getty Images
HuffPost UK has also been told that deputy leader Angela Rayner will play “a central role” in the Labour election campaign.
Relations between Rayner and Keir Starmer are professional rather than warm, with the leader being closer both personally and ideologically to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.
But one senior Labour insider said: “Angela appeals to certain voters in a way that Keir doesn’t, so she will be a key figure when the campaign gets underway.
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“We want the public to see Keir, Rachel and Angela out there together making the case for a Labour government after 14 years of the Tories.”
Whenever the election takes place, next Wednesday’s Budget will go a long way to determining whether it’s nearly time to call last orders on Sunak’s time in Downing Street.
Peter Spooner said the remarks at PMQs – as Brianna’s mother, Esther, watched from the public gallery of the House of Commons – were “absolutely dehumanising”.
Tory MPs have also broken ranks to condemn the prime minister, who has so far refused to express any remorse.
Peter Spooner told Sky News: “For the prime minister of our country to come out with degrading comments like he did, regardless of them being in relation to discussions in parliament, they are absolutely dehumanising.
“Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments and feel he should apologise for his remarks.”
Sunak made the remarks as he launched an attack on Keir Starmer for changing his policy positions.
The PM said this included “defining a woman”, before adding with a laugh: “Although in fairness that was only 99% of a U-turn.”
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That was a reference to Starmer’s previous claim that 99.9% of women “haven’t got a penis”.
In response to Sunak’s comment, Starmer hit back: “Of all the weeks to say that. When Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.
“Parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility.
“I think the role of the prime minister is to ensure that every single citizen of this country feels safe and respected and it’s a shame the prime minister doesn’t share that.”
Esther Ghey later met with Starmer, who said he was “utterly in awe of her strength and bravery”.
Today I met Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered last year.
I am utterly in awe of her strength and bravery in the face of such unimaginable grief, as she campaigns to make sure no parent has to go through what she did.
At the end of PMQs, Sunak said what had happened to Brianna Ghey was “an unspeakable and shocking tragedy”.
He added that Esther Ghey “deserves all our admiration and praise”.
But following PMQs, Sunak’s spokeswoman doubled down on the prime minister’s comment, insisting it was “legitimate to point out the number of U-turns the leader of the opposition has made”.
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Former minister Dehenna Davison, the Tory MP for Bishop Aukland, joined those who have condemned the PM.
She said: “The debate around trans issues often gets inflamed at the fringes. As politicians, it’s our job to take the heat out of such debates and focus on finding sensible ways forward, whilst ensuring those involved are treated with respect.
“Given some of the terrible incidences of transphobia we have seen lately, this need for respect feels more crucial than ever.
|That’s why it was disappointing to hear jokes being made at the trans community’s expense. Our words in the House resonate right across our society, and we all need to remember that.”
Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of planning to spend billions of pounds on tax cuts so there is no money left for an incoming Labour government.
He said Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak want to “salt the ground” in the upcoming Budget, where the chancellor is expected to dramatically slash the tax burden.
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The Labour leader said that showed the Conservatives were “not acting in the national interest, they’re acting in party interest”.
His comments come amid mounting speculation the Treasury could have up to £20 billion more than expected available for pre-election giveaways.
However, several opinion polls have suggested that voters would rather see the money spent on improving public services than tax cuts.
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Starmer said: “It’s very obvious that they are trying to salt the ground. So they’re not acting in the national interest, they’re acting in party interest.
“They briefed the autumn financial statement out as a series of traps for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. That means they have totally neglected the national interest, they’re not even pretending that they’re making decisions in the best interests of the country.
“They’re making decisions in the best interests, as they see it, of the Tory Party and their best chance of creating divides into the election. That’s why we’re in this mess.”
Starmer said public service were “in a much worse position” than they were when the Tories came to power in 2014.
He said: “There’s a basic rule in politics as far as I’m concerned, which is whichever party you are, if you leave your country worse than when you found it, that is unforgivable and that’s the position we’re in at the moment.”
He reduced the National Insurance rate paid by workers from 12% to 10%, while also unveiling cuts to business taxes.
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But the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s own assessment of the chancellor’s plans revealed that while the overall tax burden will initially come down, it is soon set to soar.
That is because of income tax thresholds remain frozen, meaning millions of workers end up in a higher tax bracket as their wages rise – a process known as “fiscal drag”.
The OBR said: “Tax changes in this autumn statement reduce the tax burden by 0.7% of GDP, but it still rises in every year to a post-war high of 37.3% of GDP by 2028-29.
“Income tax increases explain most of the increase in this forecast … driven by threshold freezes and strong nominal earnings.”
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As a result, the Treasury will rake in an extra £201 billion in tax over the next six years – four times more than the cost of Hunt’s cuts to National Insurance payments.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “This Autumn Statement was a Hunt hoax.
“Buried in the small print is a massive stealth tax raid that will drag millions into paying a higher rate in the coming years.
“The British people will rightly be furious at this deception, as they are forced to pay the price for Conservative chaos through years of unfair tax hikes.
“It is high time that this Conservative government came clean about just how much money they are taking out of hard-working families’ pockets.”
The OBR also downgraded its forecasts for economic growth over the next few years.
It also said that inflation will fall to 2.8% next year, well up on the 0.9% they forecast in March.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “After 13 years of the Conservatives, the economy simply isn’t working. And, despite all the promises today, working people are still worse off.”
Jeremy Hunt was asked on Sunday to justify cutting inheritance tax for the rich at the same time as many people are struggling to pay bills.
On Wednesday the chancellor will unveil his Autumn Statement, setting out his tax and spending plans ahead of next year’s general election.
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It has been reported he could cut the headline rate of inheritance tax – the tax on the estate (property, money and possessions) of someone who’s died – from 40% to 20%.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), less than 4% of estates paid inheritance tax in 2020–21 as it only applies to wealth over a certain amount.
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Hunt was shown a question from a viewer who asked: “Why change inheritance tax when you have the lower paid struggling to pay their bills?”
Kuenssberg asked the chancellor: “What would it say about modern Conservative Party if you cut inheritance tax, at the same time as so many people are struggling?
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“Why would you do that when people are having such a hard time?”
Hunt refused to rule in or rule out the cut, saying he was “not going to be drawn on any individual taxes”.
“I think you can read the papers this morning and you can see that I am going to abolish every single tax, there is – in fact, if you read the papers, there wouldn’t be any taxes left after Wednesday,” he said.
“I’m very sorry to say, I can confirm that won’t be the case. I would dearly love to bring down all different types of taxes.”
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, told the same programme cutting inheritance tax “in the middle of a massive cost of living crisis, and when public services are on their knees” was “not the right priority”.
“I understand people’s desire to pass on to their children what they’ve worked hard for but right now that is not the right thing to do and we would not support it,” she said.
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However Reeves did not commit to reversing any inheritance tax cut implemented by the current government should Labour win the next election.
If inheritance tax was abolished completely, the IFS calculated it would cost the government £7 billion.
Around half of the benefit would go to those with estates of £2.1 million or more at death, who make up the top 1% of estates and would benefit from an average tax cut of around £1.1 million.
The IFS said the 90% or so of estates not paying inheritance tax would not be directly affected.
Jeremy Hunt has refused to rule out increasing benefits by a smaller amount than usual by changing how the figure is calculated.
Benefits are usually “uprated” each April in line with the inflation rate of the previous September.
But according to Bloomberg News, the chancellor is considering pegging the increase to October’s inflation rate instead, and increase of 4.6% rather than 6.7%.
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Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Hunt did not commit to increasing benefits using the traditional method.
“I am not going to say this morning what I going to announce to parliament on Wednesday,” he said.
The interview came ahead next week’s Autumn Statement, which will see him set out his tax and spending plans ahead of next year’s general election.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, told the same programme Labour would increase benefits by the standard amount.
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“In government I will use the inflation rate that is traditional, the September inflation,” she said.
“If you pick and choose from year to year which inflation number is the cheapest thing to do then what you see is the gradual erosion of people’s incomes.”
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) picking the October rate rather than September would cut working-age benefits spending by about £3 billion.
It would reduce the money given to for the 8 million working-age households receiving means-tested or disability benefits.
The respected economics think-tank said real benefit levels would not just take several years to regain their pre-pandemic level but “would never get back to where they were without subsequent changes in policy”.
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The Resolution Foundation also said the effect of benefit cuts under the Conservatives since 2010 was “already staggering”.
Torsten Bell, the think-tank’s director, said: “The poorest fifth are around £2,700 a year worse off as a result. And that’s just the average. When people wonder why so many families are struggling today, this is a key part of the answer,”
Former prime minister Liz Truss is to challenge Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt with her own alternative Budget.
Her proposal will be pitched as one that rails against “conventional thinking”, and will be presented to the government as an alternative to the chancellor’s plans.
The report outlining Truss’s suggestions will be released one week before Hunt delivers his autumn statement on 22 November.
Called the “Growth Budget”, her suggestions are expected to propose similar ideas to those she announced while in office, including tax cuts and changes to corporation tax, income tax and national insurance.
It is also expected to include ideas about how the “tourism tax” could be dropped by bringing back VAT-free shopping.
At the Conservative Party conference this month, Truss made a speech calling for tax cuts to “make Britain grow again”.
Truss told the conference that she wanted to see the Conservative Party become the “party of business again”, and for the government to stop “taxing and banning things” and instead “build things and make things.”
