Nigel Farage was offered an unexpected piece of advice by Nick Fletcher MP during the GB News live Spring Budget Special in Doncaster.
The tobacco and alcohol duty rise resulted in Farage being offered the tip that could prove to be a cost-effective plan given Jeremy Hunt’s new measures.
Fletcher told Farage: “The first thing you could do Nigel is stop smoking, that would save you a lot of money every week.”
In a fiery retort, Farage commented: “I thought the Conservative Party were the party of choice, you sound like a state socialist to me!”
Nigel Farage did not take kindly to Nick Fletcher's advice
GB News
The Tory MP backed down, saying: “well, there’s a certain amount of personal responsibility there and I’m all for that too.”
It comes following Jeremy Hunt’s announcement that the price of cigarettes will become more expensive after tobacco duty was uprated.
There was good news for pub fans with an increase in the draught relief, a move the Treasury calculated will make alcohol duty 11p lower on pulled pints compared to supermarket sales.
However, drinkers will see tax on other alcohol soar by 10.1% in August in line with inflation.
The price of cigarettes will rise following the BudgetPAThe cost of an average pack of cigarettes has now risen to £14.39, with the changes coming into effect at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The Chancellor revealed the duty on all tobacco products would increase by the Retail Price Index of 10.1 per cent, plus two per cent.
Overall, this means an increase of about 12 per cent.
In January 2023, the average price for a packet of 20 cigarettes was £12.84 according to the Office for National Statistics.
The change represented the first rise in tobacco duty since October 2021.
The Chancellor also used his Budget to confirm free childcare support will be widened, extend household energy assistance and revamp the amount savers can have in their pensions before being taxed.
There were also benefit changes to encourage those on long-term sick leave back to work and investment incentives for businesses.
As leaked on Tuesday, an expansion of free childcare for one and two-year-olds formed part of Mr Hunt’s fiscal package.
The plan included providing 30 hours a week of childcare for working parents in England with children as young as nine months, matching a similar offer already in place for those with children aged three and four.
The full offer of childcare support for all under fives will become available to those eligible by September 2025, the Chancellor said.
There was also increased funding announced for nurseries, with the money pot to increase to £288 million next year, up from £204 million in September.