By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted he is a “low-tax Conservative” despite the UK being on course for the highest burden of the post-war years.
Sunak maintained he wanted “to make sure we can lower taxes over time” but said it was vital to “get inflation down and get borrowing under control” as a first economic priority.
It came despite last month’s forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which predicted that the UK is set to see the overall tax burden rise to a post-Second World war high.
Speaking to ConservativeHome, the Prime Minister said: “I believe in hard work and I want hard work to be rewarded.”
Asked a reader’s question by editor Paul Goodman on whether he and his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, were looking to simplify the tax system and “ideally cut some taxes soon”, Sunak said yes, they are.
“That’s what the Chancellor set out in the budget – very significant tax cuts for businesses to stimulate investment,” he said.
“That’s how you drive growth; that’s how you drive productivity. It means the UK is pretty much one of the most tax-generous places to invest anywhere in the world, which is fantastic.
“But obviously we want to make sure we can lower taxes over time. I’m a low-tax Conservative.”
However, he stressed that fighting rising prices was his focus, adding: “Right now we’ve got a massive problem with inflation.
“We’ve got to get inflation down and get borrowing under control. That’s the economic priority now.”
Housebuilding row
The prime minister also said he spoke to “thousands” of Conservative members, activists and councillors during the leadership campaign over last summer and heard that they oppose a system of “top-down targets” on housebuilding.
Sunak said the government wanted to build “the right number of homes” but in “the right places” and “the right way.”
Lisa Nandy, shadow housing secretary, said in response: “It is utterly shameful the Prime Minister admits he ditched housing targets because he’s too weak to stand up to Tory members.
“That decision has pushed housebuilding off a cliff and exacerbated a housing crisis that was already causing misery for millions of families and young people.”
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