Britain's 'dark days' are behind us, Jeremy Hunt tells nation

Britain’s “dark days” are behind us and voters can expect more tax cuts in the spring Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says.

As the battle for Number 10 begins in earnest, the Prime Minister will meet voters in the North West on Monday, with the Conservatives set to frame the coming election as a “stark choice” between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

The Chancellor sought to restore the Tories’ reputation as a tax-cutting party in a personal message to Sunday Express readers.

Mr Hunt insisted the economy has “turned a corner” and the Government is now “changing gear”.

He said: “While we had to take some difficult decisions to help pay down the Covid-19 debt and the money we borrowed to help people through Putin’s energy shock, those dark days are thankfully fading into the distance.”

He promised that taxes will come down “as soon as we get the chance,” saying “that’s what I hope to at the upcoming Spring Budget if it is affordable and responsible to do so”.

Claiming there is a “stark choice in British politics today,” the Chancellor said the Government wanted to “get back to delivering our vision of a lower tax, entrepreneurial economy that rewards hard work”.

He said: “By kicking off the New Year with record tax cuts, we are changing gear and looking ahead to focus on just that, taking the long-term decisions required to drive growth in the decade ahead.”

Mr Hunt said the cut to National Insurance Contributions will “land in 27 million people’s pay packets at the end of this month” – and deliver a £450 saving for anyone earning the UK average salary of £35,400.

The economy is expected to be the top issue in an election which comes in the wake of a cost of living crisis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that workers earning less than £29,000 “will almost all lose out” as a result of frozen tax thresholds.

However, Tories insist they are on a mission to revive prosperity across the entire country.

A Government source said: “The PM is heading to the North West where we have invested £1.5billion across seven key levelling up funds as part of our mission to make the whole country an engine for growth and innovation.”

Sir Keir Starmer has sought to distance the party from the years when it was led by Jeremy Corbyn. But Tories will remind voters of Sir Keir’s role in Mr Corbyn’s cabinet as Shadow Brexit Secretary.

The source said: “While Sir Keir’s north London elite, with its strong ties to the radical left, continue to promise to go on a reckless £28billion spending spree without saying how they’d pay for it, we are investing responsibility in growth and job-creation, while giving millions of workers a tax cut worth £450 on the average wage this weekend.”

“The choice at the next election will be between Sir Keir Starmer, who famously campaigned to overturn the democratic Brexit referendum result and won’t give the public any honest answers, and Rishi Sunak who believes in Britain and is determined to build a brighter future for our country.”

The Labour leader is also seeking to give voters reason to believe that better times are ahead if they give him a mandate to lead the country.

He last week set out “project hope” and the “potential for national renewal” in a major speech.

Britain, he claims, is “crying out for change” and he promised a “politics of respect and service that shows zero tolerance towards the darker side of Westminster”.

The most recent polling by WeThink shows 20 per cent of people would vote Conservative if there was an election tomorrow but 37 per cent would back Labour, with eight per cent opting for Reform UK and seven per cent for the Liberal Democrats.

Richard Holden, the newly appointed Conservative Party chairman, took direct aim at Sir Keir.

He said that his speech offered “no plan” and not “even a real acknowledgement that illegal migration is an issue”.

“It’s almost as if Starmer’s scared of people knowing what Labour have got planned,” he said.

Mr Holden accused Sir Keir of delivering a “diatribe of doom and despair that makes Eeyore look bouncy,” adding: “Well ahead of a general election, the public have a right to know what Starmer would do in office and contrast it with Rishi’s record of delivery and clear Conservative future plans. If I were Sir Keir I’d be scared too and his New Year speech showed just how terrified he is.”

“When it comes to delivery versus doom, I know what side I want to fight an election from and which side Sunday Express readers will land on too.”

Meanwhile, Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch also struck an upbeat tone about Britain’s economic prospects, saying the country is grasping Brexit opportunities in a world that is “crying out for UK expertise”.

She is confident that barriers holding back Britain’s services sector – which she says accounts for “a whopping 80 per cent of the UK’s GDP” – can be stripped away.

Ms Badenoch told the Sunday Express the UK will this year launch talks on an updated trade deal with Turkey. And she is excited by the potential of the recent Indo-Pacific trade deal which “means that British firms in key sectors won’t need to set up offices in the member countries to supply their services there”.

Mr Sunak last week poured cold water on speculation an election could be held in the spring.

There are hopes in Tory circles that people will feel better off if the vote is held in the autumn, with the country feeling the effect of lower inflation, higher pay and the National Insurance cuts.