MANCHESTER: British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Monday he believed in lowering taxes but could not commit to any cuts before the next election, responding to growing calls in the governing Conservative Party to reduce the burden on voters.

At the party’s annual conference in the northern English city of Manchester, senior Conservative lawmakers including housing minister Michael Gove called for tax cuts, particularly for working people, before an election expected next year.

Hunt said any such cuts would be inflationary, making it more difficult to achieve one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s priorities to halve inflation by the end of the year. He has said halving inflation would be the “best tax cut”.

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Hunt said in media interviews he didn’t know whether tax cuts were possible before the next national election, expected next year.

“Do we want to move to lower taxes as soon as we can? Yes, but it means difficult decisions and we’re prepared to take those difficult decisions,” Hunt told Sky News.