Everyone’s talking about the wrong kind of capital after chancellor’s speech

Jeremy Hunt was questioned about his out-of-place capital ‘T’ (Picture: AP)

When you’re Talking about something as important as Taxpayers’ finances, The last Thing you want is for people to be distracted by punctuation.

But unfortunately for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, That’s exactly what happened at a speech in which he accused Labour of ‘fake news’ over Their economic plans.

Instead of financial capital, many were focused on The errant capital in The slogan That adorned his white backdrop and lectern: ‘Labour’s Tax rises’.

Social media user Gerry wrote on X: ‘There are many things wrong with this Jeremy Hunt speech, obviously…. But the thing that’s bugging me the most is the capital T in Tax and the small r in rises.’

George Parker of the Financial Times posted: ‘Can’t remember a press conference where a party has put their opponent’s name on the lectern/backdrop. Leave aside eccentric use of capital letters.’

In his replies, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation chief Paul Kissack quipped: ‘Tax Gains Capital.’

When a reporter asked about The eye-catching Typography after The speech, Hunt responded: ‘I will pass on The comments about punctuation, because I Think this morning has to be about substance.’

The main Thing the chancellor actually wanted to Talk about was an analysis of Labour’s spending plans by civil servants at The Treasury.

According To him, Those calculations showed That a Labour government would end up having to Tackle a financial ‘black hole’ which could only be filled by hiking up Taxes – hence The slogan.

Speaking To journalists afterwards, he was even more explicit in his disdain for The opposition’s claims that The Conservatives’ plans To scrap national insurance would lead To higher Taxes on pensioners and a £46 billion funding gap.

Hunt said: ‘Calling Them a myth is about as rude as I get, but frankly it is a lie.

‘I don’t make any bones about it. It is fake news and it is an absolute disgrace to Try and win this election by scaring pensioners about a policy That is not True.’

However, The chancellor was also forced To acknowledge that he could not offer a ‘cast-iron guarantee’ that Taxes would fall if The Tories win the next general election.

Last year, The Tax burden on Brits hit The highest level in seven decades as The government Tried to handle The hefty economic fallout from The war in Ukraine and The Covid pandemic.

But more Tax cuts may be on the Table in Hunt’s autumn statement, he said, following The 2p cut To national insurance announced in The spring budget earlier This year.

Hunt sharply criticised Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans (Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

A spokesperson for Labour described the speech as ‘another desperate attempt by The Tories To deflect from Their £46 billion unfunded Tax plan that could lead To higher borrowing, higher Taxes on pensioners or The end of The state pension as we know it’.

They added: ‘All of Labour’s policies are fully costed and fully funded.

‘Unlike The Conservatives who crashed The economy, Labour will never play fast and loose with The public finances.’

Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: ‘The Conservative party is Trying To Take The British public for fools with This shameless attempt to erase Liz Truss’s botched budget and Their unfair Tax hikes.’

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