Liz Truss is reportedly set to break months of silence with an intervention on taxes ahead of Jeremy Hunt’s Budget. The former prime minister, who has kept a low profile since she left No 10 in October, is expected to join Tory calls for the tax burden to be slashed.
It comes as the Chancellor has warned Conservative MPs not to expect lower taxes in the March Budget as he looks to get soaring inflation and a black hole in the public finances under control.
But Ms Truss – who resigned in the wake of her disastrous mini-budget which sparked economic turmoil with its sweeping unfunded tax cuts – is among Tories arguing that the move will help boost growth.
A colleague told the Financial Times: “Liz believes that the policy was right but that she didn’t get the political backing she needed.
“She is still convinced we need to get out of this box of low growth.”
An ally said he expected the ex-PM to end months of silence ahead of Mr Hunt’s Budget.
It comes amid growing calls by Tory MPs to ease the tax burden, which is at its highest level since World War Two, as the Conservatives flounder behind Labour in the polls.
High-profile figures within the party including former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Thatcherite Sir John Redwood have called for tax cuts.
But Mr Hunt and Rishi Sunak are expected to hold fire in the upcoming Budget as they look to stabilise the economy.
The pair reportedly plan to wait until next year to unleash lower taxes ahead of an expected general election in autumn 2024.
However, the Chancellor will unveil plans to axe EU red tape to turbocharge growth by unleashing £100 billion of investment in a speech tomorrow.
During a visit to Morecambe in Lancashire last week, the Prime Minister insisted he wants to reduce taxation but argued the Covid pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine mean he cannot do so yet.
Mr Sunak said: “I’m a Conservative, I want to cut your taxes… I wish I could do that tomorrow quite frankly but the reason we can’t is because of all the reasons you know.
“You’re not idiots, you know what’s happened.
“We had a massive pandemic for two years, we had to shut the country down, do a bunch of extraordinary things that didn’t come cheap.
“Now we’ve got this war going on which is having an enormous impact on inflation and interest rates.”
Mr Sunak said it “takes a bit of work” to get the state of the public finances “where it needs to be”.
But he vowed to strengthen the economy, secure lower interest rates and get a “grip of” soaring inflation.
He added: “Trust me that’s what I’m going to do for you this year, that’s what we’re going to do while I’m Prime Minister and if we do those things we will be able to cut your taxes.”
