FISHY RISHI

Sunak refuses to rule out Tories breaking more manifesto vows

RISHI Sunak has paved the way to the Tories breaking more election promises.

The Chancellor refused to rule out ditching manifesto pledges including not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, saying: “I’m not going to get drawn on future fiscal policy.”

He said this year’s £394billion borrowing is not sustainable but “now is not the time to address that”. He added: “Once we get through this and we have more certainty about the economic outlook, we will need to look at how we can make sure we have a strong set of public finances.”

It came after a pledge to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid was axed in the Spending Review this week.

And Mr Sunak was accused of “picking a fight over not very much money” as pay was frozen for an estimated 1.3 million public sector staff.

Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said it will “probably save only between £1bn and £2bn next year”.

He also urged the Treasury to come clean over whether a temporary hike in Universal Credit for the poorest households will be extended beyond April.

He said: “If the Government is not going to maintain it at its current level it should say so explicitly and give people time to prepare – £20 a week is a lot for those dependent on benefits.”

Mr Sunak said it “wouldn’t be right to make a permanent decision about that now”.

The IFS also warned of a £70 hit to household budgets if town halls raise council tax, after the Chancellor gave them permission for a 5% hike.

Once we get through this we need to ensure we have strong finances

RISHI SUNAK REFUSES TO REVEAL ECONOMIC PLANS