Budget 2024 live: Jeremy Hunt hopes tax cuts will boost Conservative wealth

Harriet BaldwinThe Conservative MP who chairs the House of Commons finance committee told LBC this morning she “absolutely” wants to see an increase in defense spending in the budget.This is also the view of Conservative Party members, according to a survey by the website ConservativeHome Published yesterday. Presumably Conservative members want tax cuts first, but the survey shows 74% think increased defense spending is more important. They said Jeremy Hunt should increase the defense budget “even if this reduces the scope for tax cuts”.

UK fuel tax cuts are regressive policy that benefits the rich, study finds

Good morning. Looking at some of the newspaper front pages this morning you might think that all is said and done and today’s budget is a “good news” event for the Conservative Party (which is in such dire straits it might have forgotten What’s the good news)).

From what we can tell, Jeremy Hunt appears intent on using a giveaway budget to test the destructive power of “electoral bribery” in politics, hoping to revive the party’s fortunes by anesthetizing the memory of the government’s already massive tax hikes. In place since 2019, it has set an electoral trap for Labour.

But three big questions remain to be answered.

Firstly, is the 2p cut to National Insurance a major part of the budget, or is there something bigger coming? The 2p cut is now a fact, but it’s not entirely clear whether this is because the Treasury wants to announce it before the budget or is simply forced to confirm what diligent reporting has found. Budgets typically focus on tax changes that take effect during the budget year. But Rishi Sunak has also publicly expressed his desire to eventually cut income tax to 16p per pound, with chancellors sometimes announcing their planned tax cuts a year or more in advance. Can we get some today?

Secondly, how will Labor react? Hunt is likely to fund his tax cuts by canceling two of the four tax increases proposed by Labour, which the Conservatives had opposed, and slashing post-election public spending plans. Many in the Labor Party would like to see Starmer commit to reversing any such cuts in his response to the budget statement. But Starmer wants to contest a general election on terms set by Labour, not Hunt, so he is unlikely to jump into such an obvious elephant trap. We may not get a comprehensive, considered response from Labour today, but we will find out where they are heading.

The final question is, if this is the most nakedly partisan budget in years, will it work? We certainly won’t know for sure today, but by 6pm we may have a better guess.

Here’s our overnight budget story Kieran Stacey, Pippa Crellar and Philip Inman.

Here’s Philip’s guide to budget expectations.

My colleague Graeme Wearden will join me later from the Business Blog and we’ll cover budgeting in full and then focus on reaction and analysis.

This is the agenda for the day.

8.30am: Rishi Sunak takes over as cabinet chairman and Jeremy Hunt will brief ministers on the budget.

12 o’clock noon: Rishi Sunak takes on Keir Starmer in PMQs.

12.30pm: Hunt delivers a budget statement in the House of Commons. The speech will last approximately an hour and when the Budget Red Book is completed, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s analysis and all other budget documents will be published on the Treasury and OBR websites.

2.30pm: OBR chairman Richard Hughes holds a press conference.

17:00: Hunt was speaking at a backbench Conservative 1922 committee meeting.

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