Jeremy Hunt stands by £100k ‘not a huge salary’ claim: ‘Doesn’t go as far as you’d think’

He was pressed on whether this is a Tory failing given the fact that they have been in power for 14 years.

But Hunt argued its more down to a ‘difficult period’ experienced by the country, citing the Covid pandemic and the energy crisis as contributing factors.

“I was talking to a lady who was explaining to me the average house price in that part of the world, £670,000”, he said.

“If you’ve got a mortgage, if you’re paying child credit, what looks like a very high salary doesn’t go as far as you might think it would.”

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Tominey interjected to question: “That’s 14 years of Tory rule, isn’t it?

“A hundred grand is four times more or less the average salary in this country.

“So that’s a hell of a lot of money to earn, isn’t it? Why are people on £100k feeling that they don’t have enough money under a Conservative government?”

Hunt responded: “We’ve been through a very difficult period.

“We’ve had a pandemic, we’ve had an energy crisis.

“By the way, it’s not just people on that salary, it’s people on all salaries. If you look at the average salary in this country, £35,000, they have been feeling the pinch.

“Those people will see their tax bills go down by £900 this year. If you look at people on an even lower salary, the lowest legally payable salary, the national living wage, if they are working full time they will see their income go up by £1,800.

“That’s the difference. People at all parts of the income spectrum are finding life tough.

“We want to relieve that pressure. We’re honest. We can’t do it overnight, but we’re making a start.”

Hunt said he had been speaking to a ‘lady from Godalming’ about eligibility for the government’s childcare offer, which is not available if one parent is earning over £100,000.

He said: “I am aware that it is not a huge salary in our area if you have a mortgage to pay.”

His comments have drawn criticism from Labour, who said it showed “how desperately out of touch the Tories are.”