The chancellor’s climbdown on tax cuts is unwelcome – and precarious for his party

Editorial: It might have been better if Jeremy Hunt hadn’t set people’s expectations so high. It also suggests that his recently implemented cut to national insurance might have been rash

2 February 2024 (Dave Brown)

One of the most irritating of soundbites, usually deployed when a politician finds themself in a tight spot and would rather not acknowledge the fact, is: “I’m not going to give a running commentary on X.” It’s been used often enough by the chancellor of the Exchequer, but in recent months Jeremy Hunt has been engaged in such a non-stop gabbling narrative about his fiscal plans you’d think he was doing it for charity. He has left his audience increasingly confused.

In effect, it echoes the persistent disarray in the Labour Party about the funding for its putative £28bn green deal, once central to its plan to boost growth, decarbonise the economy and cut fuel bills. Contrary to the rhetoric emanating from both main parties about their supposedly crystal clear plans and mission statements, the fact is that the electorate is faced with an unusually opaque choice less than a year before polling day.

Even where there is some semblance of precision about figures, such as the Conservatives’ plans for public spending, it turns out that, as the IMF says, the numbers are utterly unrealistic – which means that the entire fiscal plan is also for the birds. It is not reassuring, in that context, that Labour seems to be edging towards adopting the Treasury’s current spending projections.