Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said there will not be tax cuts for Britons at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, ahead of former Prime Minister Liz Truss leading a protest against her successor, Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to GB News presenters Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster live from the conference, Hunt refused to commit to the possibility of cuts pre-election.
Eamonn asked Hunt: “Tax cuts, are they the way to do it? Why can't the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove say out loud he would like to see tax cuts?
“And the point I'm getting to Chancellor, is how on earth are you going to win this next election without tax cuts?”
Jeremy Hunt says government needs to be 'more efficient' with spending taxpayer money
GB news
Hunt replied: “Well, the way you win elections is by making promises that people believe. And we are being very honest with people. There is no shortcut to tax cuts. We've got to be more efficient with the way we spend taxpayers’ money, and I'll be talking about that today.
“If I gave a big tax cut this year, it would be inflationary, because you'll be putting money in people's pockets which would boost up demand, which would ultimately mean prices go up as well.
‘So this is not the right time, but as a Conservative, do I want to bring down taxes? Yes, I do. And what I'll be saying is we're prepared to take the tough and difficult decisions for the long term that mean that we do have a lower taxed economy. And with Rishi Sunak, you have a leader who doesn't shy away from those difficult decisions.”
Isabel Webster then asked: "Are you going to rule out on this program inheritance tax cuts?"
Hunt answered: “Well, I'm saying that no tax cuts are possible in a substantial way at the moment.
“So it's not just inheritance taxes, income taxes, all the different taxes that people look at. If we start having big tax cuts, it will be inflationary when we've got inflation at 6.7%.
“It’s come down a lot, but it needs to come down a lot more and the fastest way we can give help to families who are finding life really tough is to get inflation right down. And that's the priority of me and the Prime Minister.”
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss is set to host a rally in protest of Rishi Sunak
PA
Hunt continued: “The truth is that there are no shortcuts. And what I'm going to be saying to the Conservative conference today, is that if we want faster growth and an end to taxes ever getting higher, we can do that. But it's not a shortcut route.
“We have to take the difficult and with Rishi Sunak we have someone who's prepared to take those difficult decisions.”
Responding to Jeremy Hunt's latest comments this morning ruling out tax cuts this year, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: “The Conservative Party are fighting like rats in a sack, while families pay the price through higher mortgages, taxes and shopping bills.
“People are fed up with this endless Conservative soap opera. Rishi Sunak has lost control of his party and lost the trust of the country. The sooner we get this divided and out-of-touch government out of power the better."
This comes as Former Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is actively protesting against Sunak's plan not to cut taxes.
She will appear at the Great British Growth Rally alongside Former Home Secretary Priti Patel to call for the PM to change his mind on cuts.
Truss will call on ministers at the event, taking place at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, to make the Conservatives the “party of business again”. Truss said: "Let’s stop taxing and banning things, and start producing and building things."