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<\/p>\nThe Tories have clawed back ground on Labour after the tax-cutting Autumn Statement, according to a poll.<\/p>\n
YouGov research shows Conservative support bouncing by four points as voters digested the package laid out by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.<\/p>\n
Although Keir Starmer’s party retains a commanding 19-point lead, the finding will give encouragement to MPs who had been urging the PM to act.<\/p>\n
It could also fuel fevered speculation that Rishi Sunak might opt to call a general election in the Spring, rather than towards the end of next year as has been widely expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Wednesday Mr Hunt unveiled a 2p reduction in the headline national insurance rate and \u00a310billion of business perks in what was hailed as the biggest tax cut since the 1980s.<\/p>\n
However, economists pointed out that despite the measures the burden is still going up every year, largely because of a ‘stealth raid’ of freezing thresholds amid rampant inflation.<\/p>\n
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YouGov research shows Conservative support bouncing by four points as voters digested the package laid out by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt<\/p>\n
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The OBR has pointed out that the tax burden is still set to hit a post-war high due to the ‘stealth raid’ of freezing thresholds<\/p>\n
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There has been fevered speculation that Rishi Sunak (pictured with Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday) might opt to call a general election in the Spring, rather than towards the end of next year as has been widely expected<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt acknowledged that the cuts were only ‘a start’ and has vowed to bring forward more reductions at the Budget if the public finances stay on track.<\/p>\n
The YouGov poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, put Labour on 44 per cent – unchanged from the previous week.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Tories were up to 25 per cent from 21 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While all firms have been giving Sir Keir double-digit advantages, the margins recorded by YouGov have been some of the largest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Strategists will be watching closely to see whether any fledgling recovery is derailed by the eye-watering net migration statistics released yesterday.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u00a310billion NICs cut announced by the Chancellor this week will come into effect in January, and help 27million workers, making a \u00a335,000-a-year earner \u00a3450 better off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pensioners gained too as Mr Hunt agreed to honour the ‘triple lock’ and raise the value of the new state pension by 8.5 per cent \u2013 \u00a317.35 a week, or \u00a3900 a year.<\/p>\n
In a bid to boost growth, the Chancellor also signed off the biggest business tax cut ever, with an \u00a311billion package of tax breaks for investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reductions constituted the largest personal tax cuts since Nigel Lawson slashed income tax in his 1988 budget, when he cut the basic rate by 2p and increased the starting threshold by more than double the rate of inflation.<\/p>\n
However, Treasury documents confirmed that Britain’s tax burden is still on course to hit a record post-war high of 37.7 per cent despite yesterday’s tax cuts, which will trim it by 0.7 per cent.<\/p>\n
The OBR watchdog also highlighted that Mr Sunak’s decision to impose a six-year freeze on tax thresholds to help pay off Covid debts is set to rake in an extra \u00a345billion a year as a result of inflation.<\/p>\n
Four million low-paid workers will be dragged into the tax system over the next five years, with a further three million moving into the 40p tax bracket that was once reserved for the rich.<\/p>\n
Questions have been raised about Mr Hunt’s way of balancing the books, with the OBR warning that the government is assuming fuel duty will be hiked by RPI inflation in the Autumn and a ‘temporary’ 5p duty reduction will be ditched.<\/p>\n
A \u00a320billion real terms reduction in public spending compared to the March plans has also been pencilled in over the coming years, which could be difficult to sustain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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