Budget 2024 LIVE: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans 2p National Insurance cut as he defies calls to reduce income tax

Jeremy Hunt was widely reported to have defied calls from some in Downing Street and many Conservative MPs to reduce income tax, which is more expensive but better understood by many voters.

They were concerned another National Insurance reduction would not be enough to boost Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party’s dire poll ratings, after the last one failed to move the dial.

But Mr Hunt was said to have taken the decision to cut National Insurance after fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded the amount of fiscal headroom available for delivering tax cuts or spending commitments, within the Chancellor’s self-imposed rule of having debt falling as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029.

An income tax cut, previously promised by Mr Sunak, could reportedly still feature in a fiscal event later this year or in the Conservative election manifesto.