HUNT: TODAY'S TAX CUTS ARE JUST THE START'

A brighter future is closer than we think...so we are now able to reward the grafters

-  Sam Lister

JEREMY Hunt has vowed that tax cuts now hitting pay packets are "just the start" as he promised a brighter future is near.

The Chancellor laid out a plan to "reward the grafters" after halving inflation and balancing the books.

Mr Hunt, left, is weighing up further cuts, to income tax or another reduction in national insurance, in his Budget on March 6, promising: "A brighter future is closer than we think. Now is not the time to derail our plan to get there." Mr Hunt fired the starting gun on tax cuts in his Autumn Statement last November with a 2p reduction on the rate of national insurance - which is set to appear in the pay packets of 27 million workers this week.

This is worth an extra £1,000 a year for a couple earning the national average. And the Chancellor has declared it is time to put more money in the pockets of working people.

Experts predicted earlier this week that Mr Hunt would have around £20billion for pre-election giveaways after a surprise fall in borrowing.

He is believed to be looking at further cuts to national insurance or a reduction in income tax.

Writing in the Daily Express, the Chancellor acknowledged the tough times the country has endured after the pandemic and impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UK started 2023 with inflation in double digits but the rate had fallen to 4% as 2024 dawned.

Mr Hunt writes: "Although debt remains too high, the economy is beginning to turn a corner and debt is on track to fall.