Britain's Conservative government set to start cutting taxes ahead of likely election next year

abcnews.go.com:

Britain’s Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement

LONDON — Britain's Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement Wednesday, coming ahead of a likely national election next year that opinion polls suggest it will lose.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hinted that tax cuts are back on the agenda now that his self-imposed pledge to halve inflation this year has been met and government revenue is higher than anticipated.

In a speech Monday, Sunak raised expectations that Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt's autumn statement will begin reducing the tax burden in the U.K., which is the highest in 70 years in the wake of COVID-19 and the energy price spike triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sunak said Monday that his government would “cut tax and reward hard work” but would “avoid doing anything that puts at risk our progress in controlling inflation."

Inflation eased to 4.6% in October from a year earlier after hitting a 41-year high of 11.1% in the same month of 2022.

“Now that inflation is halved and our growth is stronger — meaning revenues are higher — we can begin the next phase and turn our attention to cutting tax,” he said. “We will do this in a serious, responsible way, based on fiscal rules to deliver sound money.”

Sunak became prime minister in October 2022 after the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss, which foundered after a series of unfunded tax cuts roiled financial markets and led to a sharp drop in the pound and big increases in mortgage rates. Sunak succeeded her on the promise that he would stabilize the British economy after the