Jeremy Hunt compared to Oliver Twist’s Fagin after autumn Budget

Jeremy Hunt was compared to Oliver Twist's Fagin after the Autumn budget.Source: Sky News

Transcript

00:00 I heard you described this morning by somebody,

00:03 as I was coming in, as a 21st century Fagin,

00:07 picking pockets where you went.

00:08 What would you say in response?

00:10 - Well, look, I don't deny for one second

00:14 that we had to put taxes up.

00:16 I think it was right to help families

00:19 with the furlough scheme that protected nine million jobs

00:22 in the pandemic.

00:23 I think it was right to help families

00:24 with the cost of living crisis,

00:26 the hike in energy and food bills.

00:29 But also I've been very honest that when you do those things

00:32 you do have to pay for them.

00:34 Now the economy has done much better than anyone thought

00:37 and that's what we should be very proud of in this country.

00:39 We have a much stronger, more resilient economy

00:43 than most commentators predicted.

00:46 I also think it's right to make a start

00:48 in bringing down taxes.

00:50 But the taxes that I brought down are not the crowd pleasers

00:54 that were on the tip of everyone's tongues,

00:56 inheritance tax or income tax.

00:58 They're the taxes that are gonna help businesses grow.

01:02 And that is the way that we will increase

01:04 our long-term prosperity, raise wages,

01:08 raise living standards.

01:09 And that was the choice

01:10 that a conservative government made yesterday.