Tories urge Chancellor not to raise tax in five Budget ‘tests’

Andrew Griffith said the Chancellor should cut welfare and the deficit while ruling out raising taxes at the Budget on October 28. (Jacob King/PA)PA WireChristopher McKeon1 minute agoNews Briefings

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The Conservatives have urged John Healey not to raise tax when he delivers his first Budget at the end of the month.

Mr Healey’s Conservative opposite number, Andrew Griffith, said the Chancellor should commit to introducing no new taxes on October 28, urging him to “stop the tax ratchet”.

Mr Griffith said: “Labour’s first two budgets put taxes on course for the highest level ever recorded, and families and businesses are continuing to pay the price.

“John Healey must deliver a ‘get a grip’ Budget, instead of kicking the can down the road.”

The call is one of five “tests” Mr Griffith said the Chancellor should meet – including cutting the budget deficit, slashing welfare, increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 and increasing youth employment.

He added: “These tests are simple, and Labour have already set one themselves.

“When he resigned as defence secretary, John Healey said that 3% of GDP on defence spending is ‘what Britain must set’.”

Mr Griffith’s “tests” come as the bosses of Britain’s biggest City groups intensified calls for the Chancellor not to raise taxes on banks.

In a letter to Mr Healey, senior City figures including the chief executives of UK Finance and the CBI said Britain’s financial services industry “already faces a higher tax burden than our key international competitors”.

The group argued that banking businesses are more likely to move their offices outside of the UK and to other financial hubs if taxes increase.

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A Treasury spokesman said: “The Chancellor has been clear that fiscal discipline underwrites every promise this Government makes, which is why he and the Prime Minister are in lockstep on meeting the fiscal rules.

“His focus is on backing British jobs, giving families and businesses breathing space and driving growth in every postcode, and he will set out decisions on October 28.”