His comments came as mortgage rates hit a peak not seen since the height of the 2008 financial crisis. But further increases will be a blow to Tory MPs calling for pre-election giveaways, as the party continues to trail Labour in the polls.
Asked about tax cuts on the way to the Nato summit in Vilnius, Mr Sunak said: “The number one priority right now is to reduce inflation and be responsible with government borrowing. That is absolutely the overriding economic priority and that takes precedence over everything else.”
He added: “Given the [economic] context we face, we are going to make sure that we bring inflation down and we don’t do anything to make the situation worse or last longer.”
However, he reiterated his stance that he did want “to reduce taxes for people”. On public sector pay rises and borrowing, he warned that the government should “not fuel the fire by excessive borrowing at a time when that would just make the situation worse”.
This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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