The whispers going around last year’s party conference largely centred on the state of government – how it was deteriorating so quickly. This year’s whispers are about something that is by no means as dramatic, but possibly as existential to the future of the party: the prospect of tax cuts.
The official line is simple: no tax cuts this year. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has spent his summer trying to quell expectations that his Autumn Statement next month will include any major changes to the tax burden, which is set to reach a post-war high by the time of the next election. This morning he said now is ‘not the right time’ for tax cuts, though he did say an inheritance tax reduction is in the ‘basket of all tax cuts’ under consideration. The Prime Minister, for his part, continues to insist that he, as a Conservative, would like taxes to be less burdensome.
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