Jeremy Hunt: tax-cutting wizard or fiscal drag queen?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 8 March 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
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Summary
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s overriding message in his big pre-election Budget was that hard economic choices were paying off in the form of tumbling inflation, improved growth and the promise of more cuts to personal taxes. But his Budget also promises a brutal fiscal reckoning for whoever wins the general election expected later this year. Lucy Fisher discusses the Budget’s implications with FT economics columnist Soumaya Keynes and Political Fix regulars George Parker and Stephen Bush.
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Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Manuela Saragosa with Leah Quinn. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The latest episode of the next five podcast is all about AI and the business travel sector. |
| 0:04.7 | I speak to Tim LaBelle, head of product for SAP concur spend solutions. |
| 0:08.7 | We'll have so much data that our travel will be safer. |
| 0:11.6 | Shelly Fletcher Bryan, VP of Adveito. |
| 0:14.0 | AI can certainly contribute to more eco-friendly travel practices. |
| 0:18.8 | And author in public speaker Theo Lau. |
| 0:20.9 | AI can help us predict when it will be a peak travel. |
| 0:24.4 | More delays, cancel the flights. |
| 0:26.4 | Listen to the full episode of the next five, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:29.4 | Enjoy. It was the last chance the government had left to shift the political dial before the general election. |
| 0:40.0 | But has this week's budget succeeded in helping the Tories and harming labour? |
| 0:49.0 | Welcome to Political Fix, your essential insider guide to Westminster from the Financial Times with me Lucy Fisher. |
| 0:57.0 | Coming up, was Chancellor Jeremy Hunt a tax-cutting wizard this week or a fiscal drag queen, as our own sketch writer dubbed him. |
| 1:04.1 | With me in the studio are Samaya Keynes the FT's economics columnist hi Samaya |
| 1:09.1 | hello. Plus our political fix regulars George, Hi George, |
| 1:13.2 | Hi Lucy. |
| 1:13.8 | And Stephen. |
| 1:14.8 | Hi Stephen. |
| 1:15.6 | Hi Lucy. |
| 1:17.0 | Just what is the economic story the Conservatives sort to paint for voters with this week's budget. |
| 1:25.0 | Just to recap on the Chancellor's version. |
| 1:28.0 | It is to unleash people power that we today put this country back on the path to lower taxes. |
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