Hunt said that the government will "reverse almost all of the tax measures”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has demolished Liz Truss’s mini-budget, announcing major U-turns in policy after the turmoil caused on the financial markets.
Hunt said that the government will “reverse almost all of the tax measures” contained in the former chancellor’s fiscal plans. Claiming that he wanted to deliver stability and confidence he also announced that the basic rate of income tax would remain at 20p, abandoning plans to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p in the pound to 19p from April next year.
The new chancellor also said that the energy support package, which meant the typical UK household would pay no more than £2,500 per year on energy and was a key plank of Truss’s policy programme, will now no longer last for two years but will end after April 2023.
The government will also ditch plans for new VAT-free shopping for international tourists.
The chancellor used phrases such as ‘I have decided’ while delivering his statement, leaving many to question who was now in charge of the government, with one Tory MP calling Hunt the ‘de facto prime minister’.
Truss is now a prime minister without political support or a policy platform.
Responding to Hunt’s statement, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves tweeted: “All the Chancellor’s statement underlines is that the damage has been done. This is a Tory crisis made in Downing Street, paid by working people with higher mortgage and higher borrowing costs. They’ve lost all credibility.
“The Chancellor said growth requires “confidence and stability”. It is clear the Tories can’t provide this. There will continue to be a huge cost to families because of them. We’re still flying blind with no OBR forecasts and no clarity on the impact of their mistakes.
“The change on their energy plan begs the question yet again – why won’t they bring in a windfall tax on energy producers to help foot the bill? Only Labour offers the leadership and ideas Britain needs to fix the economy and get out of this mess.”
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