06 March 2024 , 13:00
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Jeremy Hunt has delivered the highly-anticipated spring budget, which received boos from Labour in the very first minute.
As expected, the Chancellor announced cuts to National Insurance to boost millions of workers' pay. This means employees earning £12,750-£50,270 will see their Class One National Insurance contributes fall from 10 per cent to eight per cent, saving the average worker £450 each year. Mr Hunt also scrapped the controversial non-dom tax loophole for the super rich, despite previously saying it would be the 'wrong thing to do'.
Other policies unveiled today include a vaping tax on e-liquids that will come into effect next year, as well as £2.5 billion extra cash to help slash NHS waiting lists. Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of giving with one hand and 'taking with the other', blasting Hunt for telling thinking the cost of living crisis is 'starting to ease'.
While there is some welcome news in today's budget so far, the Chancellor is no stranger to awkward blunders. In the past, he was accused of spending £44,000 on a toilet and shower in his office and was also embroiled in a bizarre feud with Stephen Hawking over NHS costs. Mr Hunt previously made a big blunder in 2018, where he seemed to temporarily forget where his own wife was from.
Jeremy Hunt and his wife Lucia got married in 2009 (PA)During his time as Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019 under Theresa May, he bizarrely made a mistake when discussing the nationality of his wife, leaving onlookers confused. On a visit to China in an official capacity as Foreign Secretary, he referred to his Chinese wife as "Japanese" while talking to a member of the Chinese government.
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Mr Hunt and his wife Lucia Guo got married in 2009 in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony. Speaking to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Mr Hunt said: "My wife is Japanese – my wife is Chinese. That's a terrible mistake to make. My wife is Chinese and my children are half-Chinese and so we have Chinese grandparents who live in Xi'an and strong family connections in China."
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Mr Hunt has previously described Ms Guo as someone who "gives as good as she gets" as well as the "sparkler" in his and his family's lives. They have three children together – Jack, Anna, and Eleanor.
When Mr Hunt ran for the Tory leadership in 2019, he branded his wife a "great diplomatic weapon". He added: "I am very lucky that I have a wife with a great Chinese sense of humour. She has been a great diplomatic weapon for the UK, striking up friendships with partners of other foreign ministers."