RISHI Sunak says he is confident he will cut taxes before the next election — as he faced more by-election woe.
The PM is on target to halve inflation to below 5.3 per cent by the end of the year — and could lower taxes next spring.
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Speaking in London yesterday, Mr Sunak said: “I want to deliver a lower tax economy for the country. And I’m confident we will.
“But first we have to make sure inflation is brought down.”
Inflation stands at 6.7 per cent — with experts expecting a significant fall in November due to the decline in the cost of energy.
The latest polling shows Labour has a 20-point lead, and Mr Sunak was asked whether he would offer tax cuts to try win the election due next year.
He told reporters: “I’ve always been clear that of course I want to cut people’s taxes — I’m a Conservative, I believe in doing that.
“But the priority when I became Prime Minister was to bring inflation down.
“That is very much following in the tradition of Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson. And I believe that is the right economic policy.”
His comments came as the Tories face another awkward by-election in Northamptonshire after Tory MP Peter Bone was formally suspended from the House of Commons on Wednesday.
A recall petition will now be held in his Wellingborough seat — with the signatures of ten per cent of voters needed to trigger a poll.
North Northamptonshire council confirmed yesterday that the petition would open on November 8 and close on December 19, so any by- election would slip into 2024.
But Labour urged Mr Bone to quit immediately and spare constituents the hassle of the recall process.
