Chancellor: I want to lower taxes but only responsibly

I want to bring down the tax burden That is the central divide in British politics. A Labour Party that is basically happy with tax burden as it is, and a Conservative Party that says no. If we want to be competitive and successful, we need to bring down taxes. But I would only do so in a way that is responsible and in the budget and the Autumn statement I was able to reduce taxes without increasing borrowing and without reducing the money available for public services. If it’s possible to do more in that responsible way, then yes, I would like to. Put more money into public services too. But the way to do that is to grow the economy, and I don’t accept that. It’s a choice between money for public services or tax cuts. The cuts in National Insurance that I announced will mean 200,000 more people, or the equivalent of in work that will fill around one in five vacancies across the economy. That is good for growth. That means more money for the NHS, for the police, for teachers, for all our public services.