Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wants to cut taxes as many members of his UK Conservative Party want, but that his immediate priority is on bringing down inflation.
Sunak’s governing Tories hold their annual conference in Manchester from Sunday, in what will effectively trigger the countdown toward a general election expected in 2024. They trail the opposition Labour Party by double digits in opinion polls, and the prime minister is under pressure to come up with policy plans to win over voters.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Sunak also said declined to commit to building the northern leg of the UK’s flagship high-speed rail project HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester. That risks undermining his efforts to galvanize the party this week.
Key Developments, Stories:
- Sunak speaks to BBC in Manchester ahead of conference
- Unions Protest Against Tory Conference With a Week of Strikes
- Shapps Weighs UK Military Trainers in Ukraine, Telegraph Says
- The Tories Auditioning for Sunak’s Job If He Can’t Save His Own
(All times UK)
Sunak Again Refuses to Comment on HS2 (9:55 a.m.)
Rishi Sunak’s government has spent days fending off questions about the future of the HS2 high-speed rail link, in particular reports ministers are considering scrapping the northern leg between Birmingham and Manchester. On Sunday, the premier again refused to say if it will go ahead.
“I’m not going to comment on further speculation, but what I can tell you we are doing is absolutely committed to levelling up across this country,” he told the BBC. He also said connections between northern cities and transport within the cities should be prioritized, another hint that a change to HS2 may be in the works.
Questions about HS2 have emerged as Sunak has begun talking about adopting a more pro-motorist agenda, which Transport Secretary Mark Harper is expected to announce in his keynote speech on Monday.
Read More: Sunak Says Filling UK Potholes as Pressing as Pricey HS2 Project
Hunt: Tories Need ‘Credible Answer’ on Tax (9:50 a.m.)
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has repeatedly rejected calls from his fellow Conservative MPs for immediate tax cuts, saying the government needs to focus on reducing inflation and boosting growth. Still, in an interview with the Times newspaper on Saturday, he acknowledged that a party that hoped to win the next election would need a “credible answer” to the question of whether taxes would rise forever.
Sunak Says He’s Focused on Inflation (9:30 a.m.)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, responding to a call from one of his own Cabinet ministers to cut taxes before the general election (see 8:35 a.m.), said he is focused on reducing UK inflation.
“I’m a Conservative, of course I want to cut taxes. The best tax cuts that I can deliver to the British people right now is to halve inflation,” Sunak told the BBC on Sunday. “It’s a tax that impacts the poorest people the most.”
But his refusal to commit to cutting taxes before the vote is likely to worry many members of his party, and heap more pressure on his Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt ahead of his fiscal statement in the autumn.
Gove Backs Tax Cuts on ‘Work’ (8:35 a.m.)
Veteran Cabinet member and Brexit campaigner Michael Gove added his voice to the chorus of Conservatives calling for tax cuts before the next election. But he said he favored tax cuts on “work,” rather than on inheritance, as been under discussion in Downing Street.
“My own view is that wherever possible, we should cut taxes on work,” Gove, who oversees the government’s efforts to “level up” less prosperous areas, told Sky News. “In other words, we should incentivize people to work harder. We should make sure that they’re better rewarded for the enterprise, the effort, the endeavor that they put in.”
Pressed for specifics, Gove said it was up to the chancellor and the prime minister to decide tax policy. While he didn’t echo calls of some MPs for immediate relief, he said “would like to see the tax burden reduced before the next election.”
Tories Call for Tax Cuts Ahead of Election (Earlier)
Tax is a major source of tension in Rishi Sunak’s governing Conservative Party, with many of his Members of Parliament hoping the government will reduce the burden on struggling Britons ahead of the next general election. In a speech at the Tory conference on Monday, former Prime Minister Liz Truss will call for corporation tax cuts and warn that millionaires are leaving the UK. Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has also weighed in as the conference gets underway.
Tory MPs fear that the burden on struggling Britons will cost them votes, following analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank which found that taxes will have risen by about £3,500 per household since the last general election.
