Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted his tax cuts are about “long-term growth” for the economy, calling it “silly” to think they were instead about the timing of the next election.
The Conservative Party has been told to be ready for a general election from 1 January, a senior government source told Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby, with a vote being called as early as May if Wednesday’s autumn statement goes down well with voters.
In the statement, Mr Hunt announced a raft of measures, including reducing national insurance for employees from 12% to 10% and scrapping it entirely for the self-employed.
But economists have pointed out that the overall tax burden remains at a record high because of the continued freeze on tax thresholds.
The chancellor told Sky News admitted he hadn’t chosen “the most populist tax cuts”, with most of the policies aimed at boosting business growth.
But he denied the NI cuts were a pre-election giveaway, saying: “It’s silly to think about this in terms of the timing of the next election. We’re trying to make the right decisions for long-term growth of the economy.”
