11 March 2023 , 00:01
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been grilled by a former Tory Cabinet minister over whether he’s “embarrassed” and “ashamed” of the UK’s high taxation levels.
It comes as the Government faces pressure from Conservatives - including former PM Boris Johnson - to scrap a planned increase in corporation tax in April.
Appearing on a GB News, Mr Hunt faced questions from the Tory ex-Cabinet minister Esther McVey and backbencher Philip Davies, ahead of next week’s Budget.
He was asked: “As a Chancellor, are you embarrassed, ashamed that you’re here now when we’ve got the highest level of taxation in modern history?”
Mr Hunt replied: “It’s not what I want at all but, by the way, Liz Truss was right to say that the central question is how we deliver growth.
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"Where I think the mini-Budget was wrong was to say you can borrow to cut taxes because that’s not sustainable”.
Former Cabinet minister Esther McVey asked the Chancellor whether he was 'embarrassed' over tax levels (AFP via Getty Images)He insisted: “If you’re saying to me, as a Conservative Chancellor, do I want to bring down taxes? Well, I want to bring down personal taxes because that is at the heart of what being a Conservative is but I want to bring down business taxes even more”.
The measures in the Chancellor's statement in Autumn saw the tax burden rise to its highest sustained level since the Second World War.
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Mr Hunt also said that when failed PM Ms Truss called him to offer the job of Chancellor after sacking Kwasi Kwarteng, he thought it was a “hoax”.
He added he did not expect to stay in the post after her 49-day Government collapsed and Rishi Sunak was crowned Tory leader. “Not in my wildest dreams,” he said.
“It's a total privilege, because I set up my business around 14 years ago, and now I've got a chance to help other people who want to follow the same path that I did. But I'm also very aware of the challenges.
“I think, I should also say, I think it's an incredible privilege to be Rishi Sunak's Chancellor.”