No quick fix over cost of living crisis, says PM amid calls for taxes to be cut

BORIS Johnson yesterday warned ministers cannot ‘completely shield’ people from the cost of living crisis – as senior Tories stepped up calls for an emergency Budget to cut taxes.

Opening the Queen’s Speech debate in the Commons, the Prime Minister warned that Britain ‘cannot simply spend our way out’ of the crisis caused by surging inflation.

He said a bumper legislative programme, containing 38 new laws, would get the country ‘back on track’ following the pandemic.

Mr Johnson defended the lack of immediate action to ease the cost of living, saying it was vital to take action to boost economic growth in the future.

The new programme includes measures to slash red tape in the wake of Brexit, along with an Energy Bill designed to stabilise prices in future by boosting domestic supply of nuclear and renewables.

The PM said that ‘every pound of taxpayers’ money we spend on reducing bills now is a pound we are not investing in bringing down bills and prices over the longer term’. He also said ‘every major country’ is facing inflation problems, adding: ‘No country is immune and no government can realistically shield everyone from the impact’.

Sir Keir Starmer criticised the lack of immediate economic action, saying Britain was ‘staring down the barrel at something we haven’t seen in decades, a stagflation crisis’ – a reference to the toxic combination of high inflation and low growth last seen in the 1970s.

Tory MPs called on the PM and Chancellor to bring forward tax cuts in an emergency Budget. Mr Johnson revealed he and Rishi Sunak would be ‘saying more in the coming days’ on support for struggling families.

Earlier, the policing minister Kit Malthouse had refused to rule out an emergency Budget and said Mr Sunak was ‘monitoring on a daily basis what the energy market is doing, what the commodity market is doing, how that is impacting on households and how he should design his response accordingly’.

But the PM’s announcement blindsided the Treasury, with sources saying they were not aware of any imminent measures. A Treasury source ruled out an emergency Budget, saying the Chancellor had been clear that further tax measures would be left until the autumn.

And Downing Street last night played down expectations of a major spending announcement. It came as senior Tories piled pressure on the Government to bring forward tax cuts.

Former Cabinet minister David Davis said planned cuts to income tax in 2024 should be brought forward, adding: ‘We need to deploy our fiscal firepower now, when our constituents need it, not after they have suffered.’ He added: ‘Low taxes deliver investment, low taxes deliver higher productivity, therefore low taxes deliver growth, therefore low taxes is the pre-emptive answer to stagflation, which is the biggest threat on our horizon.’

Theresa May’s former deputy Damian Green said it was time to adopt a ‘Conservative way to help people... to cut taxes, particularly aimed at those at the lower end of the economic spectrum’. Think-tanks on the Right and Left also urged action.

Joe Shalam, of the centreRight Centre for Social Justice welcomed measures on issues like education and modern slavery, but added: ‘The fact remains, this cost of living crisis is just getting started. And those with the least to begin with will be the hardest hit.’

Dr George Dibb, of the centreLeft Institute for Public Policy Research, said: ‘The main brake on the economy in the shortterm is shrinking household budgets as a consequence of the failure to tackle the cost of living crisis. Today’s Queen’s Speech contains almost nothing for families who are struggling to make ends meet.’

‘Conservative way to help people’

THIS year’s Queen’s Speech was heavy with symbolism.

For the first time in nearly six decades, the monarch, 96, was unable to present her government’s plans for the coming year.

Her throne was empty and Prince Charles, her son and heir, conducted proceedings – a poignant glimpse into the future.

But this was also the first chance since the pandemic for Boris Johnson to set out his vision for Britain’s future.

There was no faulting his rhetoric. The Prime Minister accurately identified all the main problems we face. He pledged to ease the cost of living crisis, level up the regions, grow the economy, and – crucially – reduce debt ‘while reforming and cutting taxes’.

The big question is: Does he have the resolve and wherewithal to turn his promises into reality?

There are some welcome initiatives. Mr Johnson promises a crime crackdown, especially against the road-blocking ecozealots. There are proposed powers to make it easier to kick out illegal immigrants.

The PM has sounded the death knell for the lackadaisical ‘work from home’ culture. And by scrapping draconian legislation which would have imposed ruinous legal costs on newspapers in libel cases, the Government will strengthen the free Press.

(For let’s not forget that without inquisitive, probing newspapers, Sir Keir Starmer’s rank Beergate hypocrisy would never have been exposed.)

But for all its good intentions the Government will be judged on how it deals with the overwhelming issue of the day – alleviating the squeeze on families. Boris says he’s going to help those suffering genuine hardship because of soaring bills.

But where is the passionate commitment to the truly Tory solution? Promises won’t keep the wolf from the door, but tax cuts can at least keep it at bay.

Rishi Sunak claims to be a low-tax Chancellor but has raised the burden to its highest level since the 1950s. The Treasury is raking in record revenues. It’s surely time to give some of that money back.

But Mr Sunak must not leave it too late. Struggling families need help right now.