Michael Gove has called for a tax cut before the next general election – putting him at odds with the chancellor on the first day of Conservative Party conference.
Jeremy Hunt told The Times newspaper on Saturday that the government was “not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all”, and needed to focus on getting to a place in the economy where ministers could “credibly” offer reductions before making offers to voters.
Politics hub: Tory conference kicks off in Manchester
But speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the levelling up secretary said he would “like to see the tax burden reduced by the next election”.
And Mr Gove said he wanted the cuts fall on work to “incentivise people to work harder”, adding: “We should make sure that [workers] are better rewarded for the enterprise, effort and endeavour they put in.”
His remarks come as Tory party members gather in Manchester for their annual conference, and as more than 30 Tory MPs – including former prime minister Liz Truss and ex-home secretary Dame Priti Patel – sign a pledge to not back any further tax hikes.
Ms Truss, whose unfunded tax cuts in her mini budget last year triggered market turmoil, took to X – formally known as Twitter – on Friday to say: “We should always seek to reduce the tax burden, especially when there’s so much pressure on family budgets.”
The chancellor has pledged to end the “vicious circle of ever-rising taxes” on Saturday, promising to reform welfare and stop overspending in public services.
But the government focus for now is on cutting inflation after its record highs since the exit of Ms Truss from Number 10.
A range of topics will be debated by the Tories at this year’s event, from education and the NHS, through to HS2 and Ukraine, and a number of stories have already broken overnight, including:
• New levelling up funding for “overlooked” British towns
• Tory backbenchers hitting out over the “unsustainable” level of tax
• Pressure from a former leadership contender for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights
• Reports an election could be called when inflation falls below 3%
• Attacks by a minister on celebrities criticising government policy
