Having the chance to put it into action may be easier said than done. That is the central scenario among political advisers working for Sunak, who this week finally ruled out holding a snap election on May 2, quelling weeks of speculation that he might call an early vote. While the election date is not decided, the prime minister’s aides believe he can leverage falling inflation, expected interest rate cuts and the fiscal headroom likely to accrue by rolling into a new forecast period to announce more pre-ballot giveaways.
Some early suggestions by advisers are radical, considering the Britain’s strained public finances and services, according to people familiar with the matter.
They include a significant reduction in income tax, slashing the property stamp duty to help first-time buyers, and dramatic reforms to council tax that could even mean poorer Britons don’t have to pay the levy.
The aim, aides said, would be to trap the poll-leading opposition Labour Party by ratcheting up tax cuts to the point it has to oppose them – creating a point of division with the Tories in the campaign.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt cut two percentage points off the national insurance payroll tax in two fiscal statements which Labour pledged to match – though it warned it wouldn’t support further cuts due to the damage to already crumbling public services.Tory strategists are considering how to squeeze Labour on the issue ahead of the election, potentially by forcing it to vote against tax cuts in Parliament.