Shadow Cabinet Office minister makes £10 bet on Sky News that Conservatives are planning for May election
Speculation about what Jeremy Hunt will do in the budget has primarily focused on “2p or not 2p”, as the Bard would say (whether the headline cut in personal taxes is worth 2p in the pound, or just 1p), and whether or not Hunt will prioritise cutting income tax or national insurance.
In the Financial Times this morning George Parker and Sam Fleming say that some Conservative MPs believe that Jeremy Hunt will announce a 2p in the pound cut in income tax in the budget tomorrow. They report:
Hunt is expected to extend for a further one year a “temporary” 5p-a-litre fuel duty cut and again scrap an inflation-linked rise in the levy, according to government insiders. No government has raised fuel duty since 2011.
While [a further extension of the “temporary”fuel duty move would be welcomed by Conservative MPs, some believe Hunt will unveil a bigger prize in his March 6 Budget: a headline-grabbing 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax.
Jeremy Hunt will cut national insurance by 2 per cent in the Spring Budget tomorrow
It will cost £10bn and be worth £450 for the average worker. He will sell it as £900 worth of tax cuts when combined with 2 per cent NI cut in Autumn Statement
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