Hints and tips:
...The Tories are eager to build on cuts in national insurance in two successive Budget rounds as they seek to address the rising overall tax burden....
...Asked if further tax reductions were possible, Hunt argued that one of the “big divides” in UK politics was over taxation....
...But it is clear Starmer will not engage in this debate aside from reminding voters of how far taxes have risen under the Tories. Can Hunt and Rishi Sunak force Labour on to this territory?...
...Some Tory MPs would prefer Hunt to be more of a risk taker....
...That’s the important political context to understand when Hunt will essentially try to do the same thing with a further 2p cut in national insurance....
...That’s what Jeremy Hunt is doing underneath the spin....
...Hunt also announced a “landmark public sector productivity plan”, including funding to update NHS IT systems....
...Rishi Sunak, prime minister, will urge Tory MPs to unite behind the party’s economic plan at a meeting on Wednesday evening....
...Tory officials....
...Hunt is eyeing a possible tax-cutting Autumn Statement before the election with Labour leading the Tories by an average 20 points in the opinion polls....
...The smartest thing that Jeremy Hunt did in his last Budget, politically speaking, was to implement Labour’s plans to reform the “non-dom” tax regime....
...But it won’t ever happen, because Hunt’s other ally in this is the Labour party....
...For now, some thoughts about the political aims that Hunt has in his Budget....
...The UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s pledge to extend a levy on fossil fuel profits threatens to undermine Tory fortunes in the north-east of Scotland, where many fear the transition to green energy will result...
...The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has promised unspecified savings to fund cuts to National Insurance....
...A joke about Angela Rayner’s tax affairs sent the Tory benches into braying ecstasy. It was so exciting that Theresa May nearly smiled....
...He suggested voters should show patience over tax cuts and give the Tories more time to deliver them....
...And you could say that’s because Jeremy Hunt’s nicking Labour policies, or you could say the Labour party is becoming a bit more Tory....
...One Tory MP, when told that Hunt intended to cut national insurance and not income tax, said simply: “Oh no.”...
...Hunt has promised “smart tax cuts” in his Budget that reward work, and Tory MPs hope addressing the problem will be one of his surprises on March 6....
...If you end up with rate cuts that are not being delivered it’s another nail in the coffin for the Tory party.”...
...Tory MPs still hope Hunt can spring a surprise by cutting national insurance rates by 2p at a cost of about £10bn, although the chancellor’s aides have insisted this was “impossible at the moment, let alone...
...Jeremy Hunt’s Budget was described in advance by one cabinet minister as “nuanced, quite subtle”. For Tory MPs looking for a political game-changer, that sounded ominous....
...Some Tory MPs would have preferred Hunt to focus on more “retail-friendly” cuts to income tax....
...Jeremy Hunt will on Wednesday give motorists a £5bn pre-election tax break in the Budget, as hopes rise among Tory MPs that the chancellor has mustered enough money to fund a surprise 2p income tax cut....
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