IN the run-up to Thursday’s Budget, Jeremy Hunt has warned he plans to be Scrooge and will inflict some “very horrible decisions” on all of us.
It is normal for a Chancellor to float some ideas for potential tax rises in advance, so voters and the financial markets aren’t taken by surprise on the day.
But recent weeks have seen an extraordinary number of leaks and authorised briefings from the Treasury as Mr Hunt looks to fix an estimated £60billion hole in the nation’s finances.
Understandably, this torrent of potential bad news flowing out of Whitehall has left people worried and confused.
The Chancellor, meanwhile, has appeared to be revelling in his role as the bearer of endless bad news about tax hikes – alarming low-tax Tory MPs in the process, who are worried he risks choking off growth.