The annual Conservative party conference saw Rishi Sunak and his government ministers speaking on a range of topics. Among the claims made, the prime minister did not commit to cutting taxes, instead focusing on combating inflation. He claimed that by halving inflation, he could deliver the best tax cut for British citizens. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk supported this claim, saying that reduced inflation would mean citizens had 5% more money in their pockets. High inflation may lead to higher prices, but it is not a government charge or levy to pay for services, which is the definition of a tax.
Jeremy Hunt also claimed that it costs ten times more to build high-speed rail in the UK than France. The figure was not supported by the Treasury or the Conservative Party, and there have been no recent comparisons between the cost in France and the UK. A 2015 House of Lords report estimated that building HS2 could cost up to nine times more than comparable projects in France, which were between £9m-£15m per kilometre.
Rishi Sunak claimed that the UK had decarbonised faster than any other country in the G7. It is true that when comparing cuts to greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, UK emissions have fallen by 48.7%, as stated by government data. However, this figure only accounts for greenhouse gas emissions generated within the UK and does not include emissions from the manufacture of imported products.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss argued that the UK should use its gas supplies through fracking to reduce energy bills for households and to boost the economy. However, fracking in the UK faces challenges, such as higher land prices than the US, and the gas reserves being too small to impact consumer prices meaningfully.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps claimed that the UK was the second-biggest contributor of military aid to Ukraine, after the US. However, while the UK committed £2.3bn ($2.8bn) in aid in 2022 and pledged the same amount in 2023, Germany has committed to providing £6.4bn ($7.7bn) over the same period, surpassing the UK to be second to the US
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