BRITS shouldn't expect tax cuts at November's Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt hinted today.
The Chancellor played down any slashing of levies, arguing putting more money in people's pockets could fuel inflation.
And he warned inflation is proving more difficult to control than anticipated.
He made the comments on a trip to New Delhi for talks on economic co-operation between the UK and India.
Mr Hunt said: “Since the Spring Budget when the last numbers were published, we’ve seen inflation stickier than was forecast at the time and that means debt interest payments are higher.”
The Chancellor added: “Our priority is to bring down inflation. And when you’re trying to bring down inflation, you have to be really careful not to pump extra money into the economy, much as you would like to, not to pump extra money into people’s pockets because that can push up prices and keep inflation higher for longer.
“So the one thing I can absolutely say is that our focus at the autumn statement will be on bringing down inflation and delivering both the Prime Minister’s goal to halve inflation and the Bank of England’s target to get it down to 2%.”
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Mr Hunt also revealed that a trade deal with India could be completed by the end of the year adding there was “real political momentum” to get it over the line saying it depends on progress in coming weeks.
The highly anticipated Autumn Statement will take place in the Commons on Wednesday November 22.
It could be Mr Hunt's last before the next general election.
And it will be the first since the "emergency" Autumn Statement he called to clean up the mess left by Liz Truss' disastrous mini-budget.
The Chancellor is under huge pressure from Tory MPs to ease Britain's tax burden – currently the highest since the second world war.
Conservative backbenchers are crying out for appealing fiscal policies to entice the public ahead of a brutal showdown with Sir Keir Starmer.
Polling currently puts Labour 17 points ahead of the Tories.
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Alongside announcing any changes to taxes, at the Autumn Statement the Chancellor can tinker with spending pledges.
Schools, the police, hospitals and the military could be in line for pay bumps or cuts.
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