Chancellor-Not In Position To Discuss Tax Cut Ahead Of Election

Wires carrying comments from Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy hunt stated that "We would love to do a tax cut that ordinary people felt in a run up to an election, but we're not in a position to have that discussion...It would be crazy to give people money with a tax cut in one hand and take it way with higher inflation."

• Hunt says that "no formal decision" has been made on the cancellation of the northern branch of HS2 high-speed rail, but adds that the "costs of HS2 are totally and utterly unacceptable." The future of HS2 has developed into the main talking point of the ongoing Conservative party conference.
• Bloomberg reporting that according to 'people familiar with PM Rishi Sunak's HS2 plans', the northern leg will be cancelled with the savings used to improve existing rail services in the north.
• The furore over the potential cancellation of the Birmingham-Manchester leg of HS2 (while the Conservatives meet in Manchester) threatens to overshadow Sunak's efforts to build party unity in the run-up to the next general election.