London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Boris Johnson’s hints about tax cuts played down by Treasury

Boris Johnson’s hints about tax cuts played down by Treasury

Apparent disharmony between PM and chancellor on cost of living crisis fuels reshuffle speculation

The Treasury has been forced to dampen speculation of an imminent announcement on the cost of living for a second successive day, after Boris Johnson hinted to Tory MPs that the government was poised to cut taxes.

MPs said the prime minister had gestured at the idea of tax cuts to help struggling households, including at a Downing Street garden party for backbenchers.

Chair of the Northern Research Group, Jake Berry, told Sky News the PM was “showing more than a bit of ankle” to colleagues on tax cuts.

A Treasury source played down the idea, however, suggesting that in his conversations with MPs, Johnson had simply been “echoing the chancellor’s ambition to cut taxes for people”, which Rishi Sunak had set out at his spring statement.

It followed Johnson’s suggestion in the House of Commons on Tuesday that he and Sunak would say more about the cost of living “in the coming days”, which led to speculation of an imminent Treasury statement.

One former minister said Johnson’s comments to colleagues had not seemed fully formed or coordinated with the Treasury, and said it added weight to the prospect that Sunak could be moved at a reshuffle in the summer.

It is understood the chancellor is privately examining options for measures that could be announced before the summer recess, when it has become clearer how much energy regulator Ofgem will allow bills to increase in October – though it is unclear whether these will be substantive enough to satisfy the PM.

Johnson will hold a cabinet meeting in Staffordshire on Thursday in an attempt to underline his government’s mission of levelling up the UK.

Asked about the cost of living on a visit to Finland on Wednesday, he said: “We will have the maximum energy, effort and ingenuity to help the British people. You know the money we’re already spending. Of course there will be more support in the months ahead, as things continue to be tough with the increase in energy prices.”

One person with knowledge of the Treasury’s thinking said: “The chance of doing something sooner rather than later is on the up.” They suggested a temporary VAT cut was unlikely, because it would push up inflation whenever it is reversed.

Instead, options could include directly compensating users for the increase in energy bills – particularly if the rise is not as severe as had been feared before recent falls in the wholesale gas price – or extending the council tax rebate many households received in April.

Meanwhile, cabinet ministers have been asked to come up with deregulatory measures that could cut costs for consumers without requiring Sunak to sign off on more spending, with the first of these likely to be announced within days.

Some MPs would like to see the income tax cut Sunak has promised for 2024 brought forward; but with 80% of the benefit going to the top half of earners, it would do little to alleviate poverty.

Calls from MPs from across the Tory party for the government to take a more generous approach have intensified since last week’s disappointing local election results.

“The pressure on Rishi is huge, at the moment,” said former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who has called for universal credit to be increased to help the lowest paid.

He said the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates last week meant the Treasury should loosen the purse strings to prevent the economy sliding into recession.

“You’ve got to keep growth going,” he said. “You have to loosen fiscal policy: the Treasury have got it completely wrong.”

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said he expected the government to do more, particularly for the poorest.

“Help has to be realistic, therefore targeted at the least well off,” he said. “Universal credit is possible, also another look at council tax or the taxes on energy are the sensible options.”

Wycombe MP Steve Baker called for policy changes, including tax cuts and deregulation, to kickstart growth.

“In the short run, I am always going to be worried about too many constituents not being able to eat, or heat their homes: that’s why I wanted to maintain the £20 universal credit uplift,” he said.

“But in the long run, it’s very clear that the welfare state is not going to meet longstanding spending pledges. That’s why the PM must go for growth.”

Michael Gove was criticised on Wednesday for putting on a series of accents, when asked about speculation of a split between Johnson and Sunak.

He said on TV: “It is an example of some commentators chasing their own tails and trying to take a statement that is common-sensical, turning it into a ‘major’ capital letters ‘big news story’.

“When the Treasury quite rightly say ‘calm down’, people instead of recognising that they have overinflated the story in the first place then say: ‘Oh, this is clearly a split.’”

Responding to Gove’s interview, in which at one point he appeared to be imitating a Liverpudlian character played by the comedian Harry Enfield, Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, said: “Is the cost of living crisis just a joke to them? This is not a serious government.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×