On Sunday, British Minister of Finance Jeremy Hunt talked down the likelihood of tax cuts in this week’s budget, pledging “prudent and responsible” measures “for long-term growth.”
The Chancellor of the Exchequer had been widely expected to cut taxes in Wednesday’s budget, in a move seen as a way of closing the gap with the main opposition Labor Party ahead of elections.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party is trailing in the polls, with pollsters predicting that Labor leader Keir Starmer is on track to win the keys to number 10 Downing Street at a general election later this year.
Voters, hit by a cost of living crisis, have repeatedly punished the Conservatives in a string of recent by-elections.
With the Bank of England’s main interest rate sitting at a 16-year high of 5.25 percent, millions of voters are also suffering from soaring mortgage repayments.
“It’s going to be a prudent and responsible budget for long-term growth,” Hunt told Sky News television channel.
He said he would not cut taxes at the expense of future generations.
“I think the most unconservative thing I could do would be to cut taxes by increasing borrowing,” he told the BBC.
“Because that’s just cutting taxes and saying that future generations have to pick the tax up,” he added.
“There is too much waste in the system and we want public servants to get back to doing what matters most: teaching our children, keeping us safe, and treating us when we’re sick,” Hunt said in a statement.
With AFP
