Rishi Sunak says he remains a “fiscal conservative” despite unhappiness within the Conservative party about the £15bn cost of living package he announced on Thursday to help people manage rising fuel bills.
The chancellor did not rule out further emergency relief next year as he conducted a round of broadcast interviews to discuss the measures.
The package of relief was more ambitious than predicted but Sunak was quick to insist he had not changed his politics.
“First and foremost I’m a fiscal conservative; I believe it’s incredibly important that I manage the country’s finances responsibly,” he said on Friday morning. “That means, after suffering the shock we did, to get our borrowing and debt levels back on a sustainable trajectory.”
Asked if he would be prepared to introduce a further emergency package in future, with fresh borrowing and taxes, he said: “People can judge me by how I’ve acted over the last couple of years.
“I’ve always been prepared to respond to the situation on the ground, what’s happening to the economy, what families are experiencing and making sure we’ve got policies in place to support them through that.
Commenting on the fact that every household across the UK would receive a £400 grant to help cope with the rapidly rising energy costs, including wealthy individuals such as himself, the chancellor said he would be donating his to charity and encouraged others who did not need it to do the same.
He told Sky News “I am sure like me, you can also give that money to charity if you don’t need it.”
He insisted that second homes would only account for 1-2% of payments and said he had not wanted to use council tax to give the money to households because of the risk that it penalised families in larger homes who were cash poor.
Sunak denied shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ suggestion that he had implemented a Labour policy, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think that’s fair.” Labour first proposed a windfall tax on energy companies five months ago.
Despite a turbulent few weeks, where he has been fined for breaching Covid rules and his family’s finances have come under close scrutiny, Sunak insisted he was not planning to resign.
“And as you saw yesterday I have the same energy and verve I’ve always had for this job and I’ll keep at it.”
Source: The Guardian