Britain's taxes will be cut 'as soon as we can afford to,' finance minister says

cnbc.com:

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Friday said that the government will look to cut taxes «as soon as we can afford to,» amid pressure from some lawmakers in his own party to reduce the country's levies.

Hunt will present his first full budget on March 15, as the country continues to grapple with high food and energy costs, widespread industrial action, the fallout from Brexit and the worst growth outlook among the G-20 major economies.

The ruling U.K. Conservative Party has an electoral mountain to climb ahead of next year's general election, with polls consistently indicating a landslide for the main opposition Labour Party. The latest YouGov poll on Tuesday put Labour 28 points ahead of the Conservatives.

Speaking to CNBC's Tanvir Gill on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Bengaluru, India, on Friday, Hunt remained optimistic that his economic plans would regain the public's trust.

«When the election comes, I think people will see that, when it comes to taking the tough and difficult decisions, to bring responsibility back to public finances, to get inflation down, to get the economy growing, then that's the Conservative Party,» he said.

«We are the party that, in the end, will build an economy that can put more funding into our National Health Service, that can support our Armed Forces so that they can do their very important work, that can keep taxes low, we think those are the things that matter to most people.»

Asked if taxes will be lower by the time the election rolls around, Hunt said «as soon as we can afford to, yes.»

In his Autumn Statement in November, Hunt delivered a slew of tax rises and spending cuts as he set out to plug a substantial hole in the country's public finances.

The sweeping £55 billion