Jeremy Hunt has accused the Labour Party of taking the public for fools over its criticism of the economy and failure to refer to the Covid pandemic or energy crisis
In a major speech in London, the chancellor argued that the government has managed the economy well in the face of major economic shocks.
The speech was framed as Hunt attempting to refute the “myth” that the UK economy is doing worse than similar countries.
The chancellor claimed that the economy has experienced “three massive shocks” — namely the financial crisis, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, but that the government’s response has gotten the economy “back on its feet”.
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Setting out the Conservative Party’s economic pitch ahead of the general election, he also insisted that Labour would have to raise taxes to pay for its policies, claiming an extra £59 billion over four years would be required.
He said that every single Labour government since the 1970s had increased the tax burden, adding: “If we are worried about tax, I would just say one very simple thing – there is a choice”.
Hunt said: “A future Labour government does not want to cut the tax burden. A future Conservative government will. That is the big choice in British politics. And our argument is this isn’t just about family budgets, we understand how important those are when it comes to cost of living pressures.
“Our argument is this is about the future growth of our economy… More lightly-taxed economies have more dynamic private sectors, they grow faster and in the end that means more money for precious public services like the NHS.”
He went on to fiercely criticise the Labour Party’s commentary on the fall in living standards since the beginning of the current parliament.
The chancellor said: “To point out as the Labour Party do that living standards have fallen this parliament without mentioning the pandemic or the energy crisis is taking everyone for fools.
“In fact a Conservative Government protected living standards with an unprecedented £3,200 in cost of living support for the average family.
“As a result in the last year living standards grew by 1.3 per cent despite the OBR predicting they would fall by more than double that amount.”
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The post Labour taking the public for fools over living standards criticism, says Jeremy Hunt appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
In a major speech in London, the chancellor argued that the government has managed the economy well in the face of major economic shocks.
The speech was framed as Hunt attempting to refute the “myth” that the UK economy is doing worse than similar countries.
The chancellor claimed that the economy has experienced “three massive shocks” — namely the financial crisis, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, but that the government’s response has gotten the economy “back on its feet”.
***Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website, providing comprehensive coverage of UK politics. Subscribe to our daily newsletter here.***
Setting out the Conservative Party’s economic pitch ahead of the general election, he also insisted that Labour would have to raise taxes to pay for its policies, claiming an extra £59 billion over four years would be required.
He said that every single Labour government since the 1970s had increased the tax burden, adding: “If we are worried about tax, I would just say one very simple thing – there is a choice”.
Hunt said: “A future Labour government does not want to cut the tax burden. A future Conservative government will. That is the big choice in British politics. And our argument is this isn’t just about family budgets, we understand how important those are when it comes to cost of living pressures.
“Our argument is this is about the future growth of our economy… More lightly-taxed economies have more dynamic private sectors, they grow faster and in the end that means more money for precious public services like the NHS.”
He went on to fiercely criticise the Labour Party’s commentary on the fall in living standards since the beginning of the current parliament.
The chancellor said: “To point out as the Labour Party do that living standards have fallen this parliament without mentioning the pandemic or the energy crisis is taking everyone for fools.
“In fact a Conservative Government protected living standards with an unprecedented £3,200 in cost of living support for the average family.
“As a result in the last year living standards grew by 1.3 per cent despite the OBR predicting they would fall by more than double that amount.”
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website, providing comprehensive coverage of UK politics. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter here.
The post Labour taking the public for fools over living standards criticism, says Jeremy Hunt appeared first on Politics.co.uk.