06 March 2024 , 05:00
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Today, Jeremy Hunt will deliver what could be his last budget before a general election is called - as cash-strapped Brits continue to suffer amid the cost of living crisis.
The Tory MP is reportedly mulling a cut on either National Insurance or Income Tax to re-gain conservative support. But this has sparked concern about how such a policy would affect already tight public spending on schools, the NHS, and local councils. He has also been warned by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank against announcing cuts unless he can show how he will pay for them.
Other predictions for the budget include a vape tax, tobacco duty, 99 per cent mortgages, stamp duty cuts, a freeze on fuel duty and a cut to inheritance tax for some of the country's wealthiest families (quelle surprise). But the budget also comes amid national strikes in a slew of public sectors, including junior doctors - and this has been a source of contention for Hunt in the past.
Mr Hunt, who previously served as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2012 to 2018, previously faced controversy in 2017 when he clashed with Professor Stephen Hawking over funding for the health service. The scientist, who passed away on March 14 2018, criticised the Tory government's handling of the NHS, and accused the then-Health Secretary of "abusing science".
The renowned scientist and lifelong Labour supporter said Mr Hunt was "cherry-picking" evidence to suit his argument. The politician was defending his argument for having a seven-day health service, citing studies that death rates were highest at weekends.
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Stephen Hawking responded to Hunt's statements (AFP/Getty Images)Mr Hunt reformed junior doctor contracts in 2016. The terms of the contract caused widespread controversy, sparking a junior doctor strike. They claimed Mr Hunt was trying to implement a seven-day NHS, while only paying them for a five-day service. Writing in The Guardian, Professor Hawking said: "Hunt had cherry-picked research to justify his argument. For a scientist, cherry-picking evidence is unacceptable.
"When public figures abuse scientific argument, citing some studies but suppressing others to justify policies they want to implement for other reasons, it debases scientific culture. One consequence of this sort of behaviour is that it leads ordinary people to not trust science at a time when scientific research and progress are more important than ever."
Mr Hawking, who had motor neurone disease, went on to say that he "would not be here today if it were not for the service", and accused the Conservatives of putting the NHS in crisis. The Professor continued: "Hunt's statement that funding and the number of doctors and nurses are at an all-time high is a distraction.
"Record funding is not the same thing as adequate funding. There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse."
In response, Mr Hunt tweeted at the time: "Stephen Hawking is (a) brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence for weekend effect. (The) 2015 Fremantle study (is the) most comprehensive ever and whatever entrenched opposition, no responsible Health Secretary could ignore it if you want NHS to be (the) safest health service in (the) world as I do." According to the government, the study concluded that the data "raises challenging questions about reduced service provision at weekends".