Jeremy Hunt To Cut National Insurance In Autumn Statement To 'Get Britain Growing'

Jeremy Hunt will cut National Insurance and pledge to “get Britain growing” when he unveils his autumn statement on Wednesday.

An estimated 28 million workers will benefit from the move, while business taxes are also set to be slashed.

That will partly be funded by welfare reforms which will see benefit claimants have their payments reduced if they are able to work but refuse the offer of a job.

Hunt’s number two, Treasury secretary Laura Trott, has been slammed for suggesting disabled people have a “duty” to work.

The chancellor will insist that the government’s “plan for the British economy is working - but the work is not done”.

Hunt is under huge pressure from Tory MPs to deliver a crowd-pleasing autumn statement to turn around the Tories’ dire poll numbers.

Addressing MPs, the chancellor is expected to say: “After a global pandemic and energy crisis, we have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track.

“We have supported families with rising bills, cut borrowing and halved inflation.

 “The economy has grown, real incomes have risen. Our plan for the British economy is working - but the work is not done.

“Conservatives know that a dynamic economy depends less on the decisions and diktats of ministers than on the energy and enterprise of the British people.”

Rishi Sunak confirmed yesterday that the tax burden - which is at the highest it has been in decades - will be cut now that he has achieved his target of halving inflation this year.

Hunt will say: “In today’s autumn statement for growth, the Conservatives will reject big government, high spending and high tax because we know that leads to less growth, not more.

“Instead we will back British business with 110 growth measures to remove planning red tape, speed up access to the national grid, support entrepreneurs raising capital, get behind our fastest growing industries, unlock foreign direct investment, boost productivity, reform welfare, level up opportunity to every corner of the country and cut business taxes.

“Taken together we will increase business investment in the UK economy by around £20 billion a year over the next decade and get Britain growing.”