Jeremy Hunt told broadcasters this morning that it is an “eternal truth” that Conservative governments “try to bring the tax burden down” – but not many people agree.
The chancellor was speaking to journalists on Sunday ahead of the unveiling of his Spring Budget later this week, an annual event where the government outlines its plans for taxes and spending.
The pressure is on for Hunt and PM Rishi Sunak as Tories have been calling for more popular policies to soften the general public ahead of the general election later this year.
Hunt refused to reveal any particular policies he has lined up before his announcement on Wednesday – but he did repeatedly suggest that the public can trust the Tories with the economy.
He told Sky News: “I do want to show people in an election year that eternal truth that Labour governments spend more and tax more, Conservative governments spend more wisely and try to bring the tax burden down.”
He echoed this claim on the BBC.
“We’ve been very consistent, that we would only cut taxes in a way that was responsible and prudent,” he said, adding that he would not be announcing any “gimmicks” this week.
But, in the last four years, five different Tory chancellors have pledged to bring taxes down – only for them to rise to a historic level.
In fact, the current tax burden in the UK is the highest since World War 2.
As Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, pointed out: “It is the Tories who have raised taxes to their highest level in 70 years.
“No matter what the chancellor does in the Budget this week, working people will be worse off thanks to 14 years of Tory failure.”
Many on X (formerly Twitter), seemed to agree.
And several users pointed out that the last few years in government have hardly improved the economy – especially after former Tory PM Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget sent the markets into a complete spin and as the UK is currently in the middle of a recession...