In an attempt to brighten the economic outlook, Mr. Sunak has drawn criticism from Tory dissidents and a wide poll deficit against Labour.
The UK may have entered a technical recession at the end of last year, according to official numbers that could be released next week. The prime minister is also dealing with opposition from inside his own party and a significant negative opinion poll gap against Labour.
However, Mr. Sunak assured Tory rebels he was “totally up for the fight” in an interview with The Times this past weekend as he attempted to present a more optimistic outlook for the nation’s economic future.
“Because economic conditions have improved, because the plan is working, you are starting to see mortgage rates come down and we have been able to cut taxes,” he stated.
“I do believe those pressures are starting to ease and that hopefully over the course of this year we can continue to make even more progress.”
He acknowledged that “there is a sense that the country is pointing in the right direction,” but he added a caveat by stating that tax cuts would only come “when it is responsible to do so”.
In November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a 2% reduction in national insurance, going from 12% to 10%.
The International Monetary Fund warned that further tax cuts in his budget for March 6 could jeopardize the government’s capacity to fund the NHS and other essential services. Many analysts felt that his October statement had factored in unrealistic public spending squeezes.
While prominent Tories have publicly said they are coming, Mr. Sunak seemed to be echoing his chancellor, who has already attempted to downplay expectations over the scale of any tax cuts in his spring budget.
“None of us ever talk about this stuff before budgets,” he stated.
“There are others who are. They’re overinterpreting, in my opinion. The chancellor and I have stated that lowering people’s taxes is, of course, part of our long-term strategy.”
