Low Tax Conservatives Want Chancellor To Focus Cuts On “Squeezed Middle"

Leading figures in the Conservative Growth Group (CGG) are calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut inheritance tax and reform income tax bands which they argue would help the “squeezed middle”.

But Hunt has so far played down the prospect of cutting taxes at next month's budget, due on 6 March, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the UK needs to focus on securing the public finances. In the Autumn statement Hunt announced a cut in National Insurance (NI) from 12 per cent to 10 per cent. 

Former cabinet minister Ranil Jayawardena, Conservative MP for North East Hampshire, claimed the Conservatives have already helped the “lowest paid”, but that it was now important for Government to focus on lifting middle-income workers out of higher tax brackets.

“The Conservatives have helped the lowest paid by taking them out of tax altogether and cutting NI too, so it is right that we now help the squeezed middle – the police sergeants, experienced schoolteachers and junior doctors – who shouldn’t be paying 40 per cent tax, by lifting that threshold,” Jayawardena said.

He felt it was vital to reform income tax to make it “family friendly”. “Married couples and civil partners should have fully transferable income tax allowances, which would particularly help working age parents with children, when a family’s finances are tested the most,” he said. “Let’s reward people who are trying to do the right thing.”

The UK currently has historically high levels of tax, according to Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has increased from 32.64 per cent in 2000 to 35.30 per cent in 2023, according to OECD data. A number of Conservative MPs are as a result putting concerted pressure on the