By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Jeremy Hunt will still be Chancellor at the time of the general election, and is doing a “fantastic job”, Rishi Sunak has insisted.
The Prime Minister toured the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and fielded questions about the top Treasury minister’s role.
During the visit, Sunak also took a turn behind a camera and tried his hand at carpentry, as he described film and TV as one of the UK’s “powerhouse industries” to be “celebrated”.
But speaking to reporters – against the backdrop of a stormy sky – he insisted that Hunt was doing a “fantastic job” and would still be in his role whenever the election takes place.
He said: “Yes, and I’ve said that multiple times, it’s not new information.
“What’s more substantively important is what the Chancellor is doing, and that’s why as I said, the fact that we managed the economy responsibly over the last year, bringing inflation down from 11 per cent to four per cent has meant that we can start cutting people’s taxes.”
He added: “We’d like to do more when it is responsible to do so, but as we saw with the latest inflation data, inflation doesn’t fall in a straight line, it isn’t a given.
“There’s still work to do, and that’s why it’s important we stick to the plan so we can build a society where everyone’s hard work is rewarded.”
It came as Sunak enters a potentially blustery week in Westminster, following a minor Conservative rebellion over his Rwanda policy, which this week enters the House of Lords.
This weekend Hunt and Sunak promised more tax cuts at the March 6 Budget, with the Surrey MP likening the government’s policies to those of 1980s Chancellor Nigel Lawson.
But Labour shadow Treasury minister Darren Jones said: “Hunt’s words will read hollow to the millions of people who have been left worse off after 14 years of economic failure.”
However, speculation has been mounting as to whether Hunt could be replaced ahead of an election, potentially with Sunak’s close ally Claire Coutinho, who is energy security secretary.
A Number 10 source told The Times and The Sun last year: “The Chancellor will be delivering the autumn statement in a few weeks’ time and the Budget next spring.”
Sunak has until January 2025 to hold an election but has said he is working towards a vote in the second half of 2024.
