Autumn Statement 2023: Tax cuts about long-term growth, not next election, claims chancellor

Published

2 years ago

November 23, 2023

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted his tax cuts are about “long-term growth” for the economy, calling it “silly” to think they were instead about the timing of the next election.

The Conservative Party has been told to be ready for a general election from 1 January, a senior government source told Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby, with a vote being called as early as May if Wednesday’s autumn statement goes down well with voters.

In his speech to the Commons, Mr Hunt announced a raft of measures that some see as a pre-election giveaway, including reducing national insurance for employees from 12% to 10% and scrapping it entirely for the self-employed.

But economists have pointed out that the overall tax burden will remain at a record high because of the continued freeze on tax thresholds.

Politics live: ‘Clear choice’ at next election, says Hunt

The chancellor told Sky News he hadn’t chosen “the most populist tax cuts”, with most of the policies aimed at boosting business growth.

But he denied the NI cuts were there to win over voters ahead of a campaign, saying: “It’s silly to think about this in terms of the timing of the next election. We’re trying to make the right decisions for long-term growth of the economy.”

The tax cuts came amid long-standing pressure from the Tory backbenches to reduce the burden on both the public and business, which has been sat at a 70-year high.

But a general election is also looming, with the government having to call the ballot by January 2025 at the latest, and the Conservatives are still lagging behind Labour in the polls.

A senior government source told Beth Rigby that the Tories’ campaign director, Issac Levido, is due to join the party’s headquarters on a full-time basis from the new year in order to make sure they are ready for the election as soon as possible.

Another senior source also told Sky News’ political editor that the plan was to “prepare for November” but be “ready for May”, in case the tax cuts help them narrow the gap, giving them a better chance of winning an historic fifth term in office.

But it also gives them an option if the measures go down badly on their own backbenchers and a confidence vote is called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s leadership, allowing him to trigger a snap election.

Mr Hunt defended the fact the tax burden had been so high in recent years, telling Sky News’ Kay Burley “it was right to help families” through COVID and the cost of living crisis, but that comes at a cost.

“I also think it’s right to make a start in bringing down taxes,” he added. “But the taxes that I brought down are not the crowd pleasers that were on the tip of everyone’s tongues, inheritance tax or income tax.

“They’re the taxes that are going to help businesses grow, and that is the way that we will increase our long term prosperity, raise wages, raise living standards. And that was the choice that a Conservative government made yesterday.”

He added: “What I do acknowledge is that we’re going to show discipline in public spending. It’s not going to grow in real terms as fast as some people would like.

“But that is happening because I’m choosing to cut taxes mainly for business, and to help businesses recruit more people.

“I accept that we are going to have to make difficult decisions, not do all the spending that everyone would want. But what I would say in the longer run is if you want to put more money into the NHS, you need a strong economy.”

The chancellor also attempted to draw a line in the sand between the Tories and Labour, adding: “What Conservatives say is the only way that we’ll increase prosperity for families up and down the country is by making businesses more competitive. It’s what economists call supply side measures.

“The Labour approach is to boost demand in the economy by raising borrowing by £28bn a year. I agree that has a short term impact, but the longer term result of increasing borrowing is more debt, higher debt payments, that means that taxes have to go up to pay for them, that makes our economy less competitive.

“So there is a very big difference between the Conservative approach and the Labour approach. And why, in the end, do people vote Conservative in elections? It’s because they trust us to make decisions for the long term growth of the economy. That’s what we did yesterday.”

Giving her assessment of the autumn statement, Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves said there “wasn’t anything… that remotely compensates for the tax increases that we have had under the Conservatives these last four years” and the tax burden under the Tories was just set to increase.

Speaking to Sky News, she added: “In the end, how do you know if you’re better off? It’s your bank balance.

“And the truth is that this will be the first parliament ever where real disposable incomes are going to be lower at the end of it than they were at the beginning.

“People can see that when they look at their bank statements, when they log in to their bank accounts and see that the taxes that are being taken, the mortgage payments that are going out, the gas and electricity bills… that again are going to rise in January, all putting big pressure on the family finances and the tax increases that have already been announced [are more] than the chancellor gave back yesterday.”

Politics

Watchdog criticises ‘unprecedented’ government offer to delay local elections – as five councils confirm requests for postponement

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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Watchdog criticises 'unprecedented' government offer to delay local elections – as five councils confirm requests for postponement

The elections watchdog has criticised the government for offering to consider delaying 63 local council elections next year – as five authorities confirmed to Sky News that they would ask for a postponement.

On Thursday, hours before parliament began its Christmas recess, the government revealed that councils were being sent a letter asking if they thought elections should be delayed in their areas due to challenges around delivering local government reorganisation plans.

The chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, hit out at the announcement on Friday, saying he was “concerned” that some elections could be postponed, with some having already been deferred from 2025.

“We are disappointed by both the timing and substance of the statement. Scheduled elections should, as a rule, go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances,” he said in a statement.

“Decisions on any postponements will not be taken until mid-January, less than three months before the scheduled May 2026 elections are due to begin.

“This uncertainty is unprecedented and will not help campaigners and administrators who need time to prepare for their important roles.”

Mr Rangarajan added: “We very much recognise the pressures on local government, but these late changes do not help administrators. Parties and candidates have already been preparing for some time, and will be understandably concerned.”

He said “capacity constraints” were not a “legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections”, which risked “affecting the legitimacy of local decision-making and damaging public confidence”.

The watchdog chief also said there was “a clear conflict of interest in asking existing councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters”.

Sky News contacted the 63 councils that have been sent the letter about potentially delaying their elections.

At the time of publication, 17 authorities had replied with their decisions, while 33 said they would make up their minds before the government’s deadline of 15 January.

Many councils told Sky News they were surprised at yesterday’s announcement, saying that they had been fully intending to hold their polls as scheduled.

They said they were now working to understand the appropriate democratic mechanism for deciding whether to request a postponement of elections. Some local authorities believe it should be a decision made by their full council, while others will leave it up to council leaders or cabinet members to decide.

Multiple councils also emphasised in statements to Sky News that the ultimate decision to delay elections lay with the government.

Reform UK has threatened legal action against ministers, accusing Labour and the Tories of “colluding” to postpone elections in order to lock other parties out of power – a sentiment echoed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

But shadow local government secretary Sir James Cleverly told Sky News this morning that the Conservative Party “wants these elections to go ahead”. Sky News understands that the national party is making that position clear to local leaders.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, said it was taking a “locally-led approach”, and emphasised that “councils are in the best position to judge the impact of postponements on their area”.

They added: “These are exceptional circumstances where councils have told us they’re struggling to prepare for resource-intensive elections to councils that will shortly be abolished, while also reorganising into more efficient authorities that can better serve local residents.

“There is a clear precedent for postponing local elections where local government reorganisation is in progress, as happened in 2019 and 2022.”

The five councils that confirmed they would be seeking postponements were:

Blackburn with Darwen Council (Labour);
Chorley Borough Council (Labour);
East Sussex County Council (Conservative minority);
Hastings Borough Council (Green minority);
West Sussex County Council (Conservative).

The councils in Chorley, and East and West Sussex, had decided prior to Thursday’s government announcement that they would request a delay.

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson told Sky News: “It is welcome that the government is listening to local leaders and has heard the case for focussing our resources on delivery in East Sussex, particularly with devolution and reorganisation of local government, as well as delivering services to residents, such high priorities.”

They also pointed to the cost of electing councillors for a term of just one year, and argued that it would be “more prudent for just one set of elections to be held in 2027”.

West Sussex County Council echoed those reasons and said it would cost taxpayers across the county £9m to hold elections in 2026, 2027, and 2028, as currently planned.

Chorley and Blackburn councils also cited the cost of delivering elections, and said they would prefer that money be spent on delivering the local government reorganisation and delivering services to local residents.

Meanwhile, 12 councils confirmed to Sky News that they would not be requesting delays:

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (Liberal Democrat-Independents);
Broxbourne Borough Council (Conservative);
Colchester City Council (Labour-Liberal Democrat);
Eastleigh Borough Council (Liberal Democrat);
Essex County Council (Conservative);
Hart District Council (Liberal Democrat-Community Campaign);
Hastings Borough Council (Green minority);
Isle of Wight Council (no overall control);
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council (Conservative);
Portsmouth City Council (Liberal Democrat minority);
Rushmoor Borough Council (Labour minority);
Southampton City Council (Labour).

Politics

Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

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Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

Keonne Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to one felony count related to his role at Samourai Wallet, is calling on US President Donald Trump to pardon him, citing similar language that has been successful in previous pardon applications.

In a Thursday X post, Rodriguez said he would report to prison on Friday, where he will serve a five-year sentence for operating an illegal money transmitter. The Samourai co-founder claimed there were no “victims” to his crime, and blamed his incarceration on “lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”

In a message tagging Trump, Rodriguez expressed hope that the US president would issue a federal pardon for him and William “Bill” Lonergan Hill, another Samourai executive who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years. Rodriguez blamed “activist judges” for his legal troubles, claiming he was targeted by a “political anti-innovation agenda.”

“I maintain hope that [Trump] is a fair man, a man of the people, who will see this prosecution for what it was: an anti innovation, anti american, attack on the rights and liberties of free people,” said Rodriguez. “I believe his team […] and others truly want to end the weaponization of the DOJ that the previous administration wielded so effectively […] I believe he will continue to wield that power for good and pardon me and Bill.”

Bitcoin Wallet, Law, Politics, Court, Crimes, Donald Trump — *Source:* *Keonne Rodriguez*

Rodriguez’s public plea followed Trump’s statement that he would “take a look” at a pardon for the Samourai co-founder, claiming that he had no knowledge of the case. It’s unclear whether Rodriguez filed an official application for a pardon or is relying on public statements to get the president’s attention.

Other crypto execs successfully lobbied for a Trump pardon

One of Trump’s first acts as president in January was to issue a pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for his role in creating and operating the darknet marketplace.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who pleaded guilty to one felony in 2023 related to the exchange’s Anti-Money Laundering program, served four months in prison but also received a pardon from the president. Trump later said he “[knew] nothing about” Zhao when asked about the pardon in a November interview.

Rodriguez’s language addressing Trump mirrored comments from the White House on previous pardons. For example, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a “weaponization of justice from the previous administration” when the president commuted the sentence of David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding “thousands of individual investors in a $1.6 billion” scheme in 2024.