Jeremy Hunt has declined to give a “cast-iron guarantee” of tax cuts, while insisting the tax burden would go down under a future Conservative government. He also claimed Labour’s economic plans would lead to tax rises and accused the Opposition of attempting to scare pensioners with lies about national insurance. Following a speech in London in which he sought to draw dividing lines between the two main political parties, the Chancellor was asked if he could guarantee that taxes will fall. He said: “If you’re saying can I look into a crystal ball and predict what is going to happen in the world in the next five or 10 years, and therefore give you a cast-iron guarantee of when we will be able to reduce the tax burden and to what level, the answer is of course I can’t, and it would be irresponsible to do so.” Today, I’m releasing analysis by independent civil servants at the Treasury on Labour’s plans for office. That shows a £38 billion black hole in their plans, which can only be fixed by further tax rises – the equivalent of £2100 per family. https://t.co/i2MrdjP4aZ — Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) May 17, 2024 But he also...