Thread by @lewis_goodall

In Conversation event with @RishiSunak @iealondon and @the_tpa.

Opening salvo a question which is coming up again and again here: “Are the Conservatives really still the party of low tax?”

Sunak: “No chancellor, no Conservative Chancellor, especially not me wants to do those things [raise taxes] but those things are borne of necessity.”

Sunak hints that as the crisis recedes it would be useful to return to Treasury framework on borrowing and spending (golden rules etc)

Sunak says three reasons NI rise was preferable to any other tax rise

1) historic precedent of NI as means to fund public services
2) NI has employer contribution
3) it’s Union wide, income tax rise wouldn’t have applied outside England.

Sunak: “We can’t just keep measuring success by how much money we spend.”

Sunak pays homage to his predecessors as Chancellor for “building a position of strength” on the public finances which meant he could respond “as few other countries could” fiscally in response to Covid.

Hmm. Can’t think of comparable countries which have struggled to finance their Covid debt. And most comparable countries have responded in similar ways.

https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1445435379608399873

Also true that the overall debt/deficit situation over the last decade hasn’t exactly been rosy.

Sunak asked for the sum it will cost to get the UK to net zero. Sunak says “you can’t spend your way to not zero- it’s going to be a mix of things.”

Asked by @MarkJLittlewood whether we can look forward to any tax cuts before 2050 Sunak laughs and says: “that’s a little pessimistic.”

Asked by @iainjwatson whether he’s worried about inflation Sunak responds with an answer about the national debt. Doesn’t directly mention effects on cost of living.