Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has defended comments he made last week that £100,000 was “not a huge salary”, telling Sky News that in his Surrey constituency , this number is “not as high as you think.”
Thursday Mr Hunter Posted the call he received on social media A female electorate from Godalming, titled “Constituency Appeal”.
He wrote: “I spoke to a woman from Godalming about eligibility for government-provided childcare, which is not available if one parent earns more than £100,000.
“This is an issue I really want to address after the next election because I know it’s not [a] Wages are high in our area if you have a mortgage. “
He was later criticized by opposition MPs and commentators who pointed out that the Office for National Statistics’ latest estimate of the average UK full-time salary was £34,963.
When asked if Trevor Phillips’ comments on Sunday “sounded right,” Mr Hunter Said he was speaking to a constituent who said a “high-sounding salary” was not as high as many people thought when the average local house price was £670,000.
He added: “If you have a mortgage and you have childcare costs, the costs are not as severe as you think. She’s right.”
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In the recent Budget, Mr Hunt increased child benefit, making it available to families with a parent earning £80,000 a year, instead of the previous £60,000.
Eligible parents receive £24 per week for their first child and £15.90 per week for additional children. Next month, these fees will increase to £25.60 and £16.95 per week respectively.
The policy change will help 170,000 families with children under 16 or under 20 in full-time education or training.
“That’s why I want to help families,” Mr Hunt said on Sunday.
“We can’t afford to provide childcare for those on the highest incomes, but I’m just saying it’s something I’d like to see in the next parliament, but we can’t afford it now,” he added.
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“Most people dream of making this kind of money.”
On Thursday, Labour’s shadow treasurer Jonathan Ashworth said: “When the chancellor claimed that someone on a £100,000-a-year salary was not a ‘huge salary’, he once again exposed the extent of the Conservative Party’s disconnect with working people. .
“The vast majority of working people in this country dream of earning this kind of money, but they are all being forced to pay the price of fourteen years of Conservative failure.
“It’s appalling that the chancellor can complain about mortgage costs while the Conservative government destroys the economy with a kamikaze budget and sends mortgage costs through the roof.”
Paul Follows, the Lib Dem who is running against Mr Hunt in the new Godalming and Ashe constituency at the next election, said: “If even those on £100,000 a year are struggling , especially when it comes to mortgage costs, he should perhaps consider his own problems as well as his government’s actions.
“But the basic point is that if people on this money are struggling, the vast majority of people earning much less are struggling with things like mortgages, rent costs and rising childcare costs. What about people?
“What has he done as chancellor or as an MP to help people struggling with the cost of living crisis? Nothing.”
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