Battle over taxes: Will Jeremy Hunt be able to end Tory gloom at ‘the survival conference’?

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2023

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The week of the Conservative Party conference began with a grim warning about taxes.

Now at their highest level since records began 70 years ago, taxes are also unlikely to come down anytime soon, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Where does this leave the Conservatives, the party which preaches lower taxes but has presided over a record rise since 2019?

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This party conference is, in the words of one former minister I spoke to, “the survival conference” – a year on from Liz Truss announcing a series of unfunded tax cuts which saw the bond markets tank and her premiership unravel.

Accordingly, Rishi Sunak has staunchly refused to commit to any tax cuts at this stage, saying the best tax cut he can give people is getting inflation under control.

The chancellor has gone further, telling a newspaper it will be “virtually impossible” to deliver tax cuts until the economic outlook improves.

But this is where economic realities collide with politics – an election year in which the Conservatives are well behind and the party restive for a positive message.

Michael Gove expressed the views of many when he told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that he hoped for tax cuts before the general election.

Senior figures on the right went further, with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg telling Sky News the time for signalling was over, calling for action in the autumn statement in November.

“We don’t need signals, we need action,” he said. “I think the autumn statement is a time to say, this is what we are doing on this particular tax. I would be in favour of reversing the increasing corporation tax, as Liz Truss is.

“I’d be in favour of abolishing death duties, which I think is eminently affordable. But we need to do things, not promise them.”

Speculation has been rife that the prime minister is planning a pre-election giveaway on inheritance tax.

Tory sources point out it is widely unpopular even though only 4% of estates are liable for it.

There are also spending cuts under consideration, with the High Speed 2 rail line, winter fuel payments for richer pensioners and some benefits being looked at for potential savings.

But after a decade of austerity, and the realities of an ageing populations and pressures on the health service, savings will not be easy or popular.

Jeremy Hunt will today insist sunlit uplands are within reach, saying the British economy has grown faster since 2010 than others in Europe.

The party will also confirm it will accept recommendations to raise the national living wage to at least £11 an hour in 2024 – meeting a manifesto commitment to raise the wages of the lowest paid to two-thirds of the median earnings.

Whether this will make up for increases in rent, energy bills, food and childcare costs will be one of the questions voters weigh up at the next election.

Ms Truss will be appearing in Manchester, at a rally for economic growth in which she will call for corporation tax to be cut back – an aim Mr Hunt used to strongly support. How much support she receives there from activists will be closely watched.

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Tories know from recent experience the perils of promising tax cuts which don’t add up.

They also have a party desperate for a voter-friendly message to end the gloom – and fear the chancellor’s speech later may not provide it.

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Palestine Action ban must be explained, Labour peer tells Starmer

Published

13 mins ago

October 10, 2025

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Palestine Action ban must be explained, Labour peer tells Starmer

Ministers must do “much more” to explain why Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist group, Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking to the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said the government looked like it was just “arresting octogenarian vicars who are worried about the awful situation in Gaza”.

Baroness Harman, who was a Labour MP from 1982 to 2024, said the government had a “number of incredibly important duties” with regard to the war in Gaza – including protecting the Jewish community while also permitting free speech.

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She said that as well as ensuring the safety of Jewish venues, such as schools and synagogues, the government also needed to “try and create an atmosphere where the Jewish people should not feel that they are under threat and be asking themselves whether this is the right country for them to live in and be bringing up their families”.

Baroness Harman went on: “They also have to support and uphold the right to free speech and the right of protest. And people have felt so horrified.

“We all have about the devastating loss of life and suffering in Gaza. And so it’s right that people are allowed to protest.”

A number of protests in support of Palestine Action have been organised in recent months following the group’s proscription under anti-terrorism laws in July, after members targeted RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft.

Last week, there were calls for the demonstrations to be halted following the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in which two people were killed – but a number took place across the country, including in London.

The Labour peer said the organisers of such protests had a responsibility not to allow people to support a “terrorist organisation” but that the government also needed to do “much, more more” to explain why Palestine Action had been proscribed.

“At the moment, it just looks like the police are arresting octogenarian vicars who are worried about the awful situation in Gaza,” Baroness Harman said.

“So they’ve got to actually be much clearer in why Palestine Action is a terrorist group and that they’re justified in prescribing them and making them illegal.

“But also the police have got to police those marches in stopping them being about the spouting of hatred and inciting violence, with people talking about globalising the intifada, which basically means killing all Jewish people.

“And the police do actually have very wide-ranging powers, not just to arrest people, but to actually ban marches.“

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Telegram’s Durov: We’re ‘running out of time to save the free internet’

Published

2 hours ago

October 10, 2025

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Telegram’s Durov: We’re ‘running out of time to save the free internet’

EU lawmakers have sought to introduce Chat Control, while the UK and Australia are on track for digital ID systems. Pavel Durov warns that these “dystopian” measures must be stopped.

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‘The time is now to stop Reform’ – Plaid Cymru calls on Labour voters to unite behind Welsh nationalists

Published

3 hours ago

October 10, 2025

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'The time is now to stop Reform' - Plaid Cymru calls on Labour voters to unite behind Welsh nationalists

One party has held court over Welsh politics for more than a century.

Welsh Labour MPs have been the largest group sent to Westminster in every general election since 1922 – and the party has been in government in the country for more than a quarter of a century.

But if the polls are accurate, Labour’s long-standing grip on politics in Wales is fading.

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Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are running almost neck and neck, while Labour trails significantly. A recent YouGov poll put Plaid Cymru on 30%, Reform UK on 29% and Labour at 14%.

Plaid Cymru, heading into its conference this weekend, can sense the mood for change in Wales – and intends to show it is ready for government.

The party hopes to capitalise on disillusioned Labour voters feeling let down by their party under Sir Keir Starmer, and use this to tackle the rise of Reform – which is key to getting it into power.

In his leader’s speech, Rhun ap Iorwerth is expected to position Plaid Cymru as Wales’s progressive force, and the only party capable of taking on Reform.

He will say: “We’re not here to act as Labour’s conscience. We are not here to repair Labour. We are here to replace them.

“If you’ve never voted for Plaid Cymru before, the time is now.

“The time is now to stop Reform and elect a government more radical, more ambitious, more impatient to bring about positive change than any which has gone before it. A government of progress and of progressive values.”

One in five Labour voters in Wales intend to back Plaid Cymru at the Senedd elections in 2026, according to YouGov. But almost a quarter of Labour voters remain undecided on who to endorse.

The topic of independence will no doubt be a contentious issue for voters who are angry about decisions made by Labour in Wales and Westminster, but do not want an independent Wales.

Mr ap Iorwerth has ruled out an independence referendum if Plaid Cymru wins next year’s elections, signalling that he doesn’t want the campaign to centre on independence.

Throughout the conference, Plaid Cymru will position itself as ready to govern. But voters will expect clear plans for the NHS, education, and the economy. The question for the party, both during this conference and over the coming months, will be whether its proposals can win over Labour voters in its quest to beat Reform.

But Plaid Cymru’s challenge to Nigel Farage’s party faces a critical test sooner than May. Instead, its next battle will be in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election on 23 October.

Historically a Labour stronghold at both Senedd and Westminster levels, Caerphilly has consistently returned Labour representatives, with Plaid Cymru as the main opposition at Senedd elections.

However, this election introduces a new dynamic, as Reform has emerged as a credible challenger, poised to disrupt the traditional two-party contest.

Coming second at this election won’t be a total loss for Plaid Cymru.

If it can come second at the by-election, it will prove the point Mr ap Iorwerth will be making at the conference in Swansea: that his party is the only credible anti-Reform vote.

The full list of candidates standing at the Caerphilly by-election: