Hunt reportedly mulling stamp duty and NI cuts in effort to woo voters

A government official with direct knowledge of the plans told the Financial Times: “The Treasury is working towards a September fiscal event and will try to cut national insurance by another 2p.

Hunt also told the FT this week that he would like to cut taxes in an autumn fiscal event “if we can”, despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund that voter giveaways would make reducing the UK’s national debt more difficult.

The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, described the pledge as “not worth the paper it’s written on unless accompanied by some sense of how it will be afforded”.

The last two national insurance cuts, which added about £900 a year to the pockets of someone on the average wage, did little to boost the Conservatives’ standing in the polls.

Hunt’s pre-election tax cut plans will be put under the microscope next month when the IMF conducts its in-depth look at the UK economy.

IMF officials said the team sent to London for its annual health check would be looking closely at whether tax increases or spending cuts would be needed after the general election.