Spring Statement: Rishi Sunak outlines plan for cutting taxes

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A Sunday Express survey found 63 percent of voters do not think the Chancellor went far enough in last week’s Spring Statement. More than two-thirds admit they will still struggle to pay soaring heating and energy bills. And six in 10 voters thought his promise of a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax, to kick in before the next election in 2024, should be implemented now. The issue is still hitting the Tories at the polls, with Labour increasing its lead in the wake of the statement, up one point to 40 percent to the Conservatives’ 35 percent.

The survey of 1,642 people, carried out by pollsters Techne, showed that the cost of living is the top concern for 58 percent, followed by the war in Ukraine for 31 percent.

Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies said: “People are understandably worried about how they are going to be able to pay their bills with the cost of energy, fuel and general inflation being so high.

“The country is in debt but not because we are under-taxed. We must go much further and faster in cutting taxes and putting more money in people’s pockets.”

According to the poll, 84 percent will now avoid making large purchases such as new cars and two-thirds (67 percent) will struggle to pay their heating and energy bills.

At a time when restaurants, theatres, cinemas and holiday companies need customers to recover from lockdown, more than half (55 percent) will cut their spending in these areas and more than a third (37 percent) will save on clothes shopping.

A third of all respondents said that the crisis will push back the date they can retire, including six in 10 of those still in their 40s.

Amid reports Mr Sunak overruled attempts by Boris Johnson to cut energy bills, Mansfield Tory MP Ben Bradley, who leads Nottinghamshire County Council, pressed for action.

He said: “While many of the factors causing high prices are not directly in the Government’s control, we should be consistent with our conservative values and look to reduce taxes so people have more money in their pockets. Perhaps that should start by scrapping the extortionate green levies that add 12 percent or more to energy bills.”

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said: “I would have liked to have seen more support for pensioners and working people.”

The figures reveal that 81 percent of 65-year-olds and over put the cost of living as the top concern while 75 percent want the tax cut brought forward and 70 percent fear they will have to turn off the heating.

Mr Longhi also said that a “more pragmatic approach” to achieving net zero – balancing greenhouse gas emissions and removal – is needed and the UK must use its onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves, including fracking, to keep bills down.

He said: “The transition to renewables needs to be done in a more pragmatic and calculated way.”

He added that the 5p cut per litre in fuel duty should have been bigger.

He said: “I would like to see more at the petrol pumps. I’m thinking of a carer on £20,000 or less who goes to fill up the car to visit a patient but cannot afford to do so.”

Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, urged the Chancellor to lower taxes.

He said: “The tax burden is the highest in decades. Rishi Sunak can’t do very much to lower or mitigate the prevailing world price for petrol but he can lower taxes.”

Others questioned the net zero drive. Just seven percent of those polled said that climate change is their biggest fear.

Former defence minister Mark Francois said: “The 2050 target is years away, especially if you are currently struggling to fill up your tank, to get to work, or take kids to school and this poll clearly reflects that.

“We face an election in two years – not 28 – and our policy making, like the 5p a litre duty cut, clearly needs to reflect that.”

John Longworth, a former director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, now chairs the Ind­­ependent Business Network.

He urged the Government to “go for growth”, adding: “The national finances are in a deep hole and rather than keep digging by pursuing half-hearted austerity, the Government needs to boost the economy.”

But other MPs lined up to defend the Chancellor. Former international development secretary and chief whip Andrew Mitchell was glad Mr Sunak had not shut the door on taking further action to help people.

He said: “I know how worried my constituents are, which is why I am pleased Rishi made clear he is keeping under review the necessity for further measures.”

Rother Valley Conservative MP Alexander Stafford said people’s top worry about the cost of living is closely linked to the second biggest source of concern, Vladimir Putin and Ukraine. He said that the war has had an impact on gas and oil prices, and also the cost of food.

He added: “They are both the same problem in so many ways. If you solve one, you solve the other.”

Former chief whip Mark Harper added: “A Conservative chancellor should always manage the economy as prudently as ­possible, with due regard for taxpayers’ money, while supporting people in tough times where it is possible to do so.

“It is simply not realistic for the Government to insulate everyone from every price rise, and the Chancellor was commendably honest about that.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “We recognise that against a backdrop of very high inflation and great uncertainty, it’s a hugely difficult time for people at the moment. That’s why we’re putting billions of pounds back into the pockets of hard-working families.

“In the Spring Statement alone, that includes cutting fuel duty to 5p over the next 12 months, increasing the National Insurance thresholds to save a typical worker £330 per year, and an extra £500million for the Household Support Fund to help those most in need.

“That’s on top of £1,000 for people on Universal Credit, a boost to incomes by £1,000 per average for the lowest paid full-time worker on the National Living Wage, and up to £350 for millions of households to help with rising energy bills.”

‘Fuel price will go back to normal… when fighting ends’

Forecourt prices will remain at record highs as long as there is war in Ukraine but will fall to pre-conflict levels within a week of a truce, according to an energy expert, writes Jon Coates, Consumer Editor. 

Dr Babatunde Anifowose has warned motorists to expect months of inflated costs due to the global lack of supply of crude oil and natural gas caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

The average price for petrol last week hit a record high of 167.30p per litre and for diesel 179.72p per litre. This means filling an average 55-litre car with petrol now costs £92 and nearly £99 for diesel. And Dr Anifowose, of Coventry University’s School of Energy, Construction and Environment, said prices are unlikely to have peaked yet.

He said: “If people cannot afford fuel prices for their cars they can go on a train or bus instead, or walk. But the bigger issue is that people have no alternative but to heat their homes. This will be an issue for as long as there is a war in Ukraine but as soon as there is a truce, prices will return to normal within a week.”

Dr Anifowose added: “This should act as a wake-up call for policy-makers not to be reliant on a single country like Russia for their energy needs.

The EU has signed a deal with the US to supply more of its liquid natural gas, to cut the 40 percent of Russian gas it buys.

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