Budget day is approaching and what was once seen as a window of opportunity is now being talked up as a moment of dread. Jeremy Hunt has gone from comparing himself in January to the former tax-slashing chancellor Nigel Lawson to telling the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that, in reality, fiscal constraints mean on Wednesday he will be closer to a ‘prudent’ Gordon Brown. Rishi Sunak is still hoping to make good on his promise of a ‘gear shift’ on taxation. But given the government has less space for manoeuvre than they envisaged at the beginning of the year, any tax cuts will be accompanied by difficult decisions elsewhere.
Hunt and Sunak are still finalising the package the Chancellor will unveil on Wednesday. There’s talk of tension between the Prime Minister and his Chancellor – with No. 10 having strong views over what should be in the Budget, given it could be the last fiscal event between now and the election.
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