Rishi Sunak gathers Cabinet as he braces Britain for YEARS of taxes and

Rishi Sunak is gathering his Cabinet today as he braces Britons for years of higher taxes and austerity to fill the ‘eye-watering’ £50billion black hole in the government finances.

The PM and his senior team will take stock after he agreed with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt that it is ‘inevitable’ all taxpayers will face a higher burden.

Their grim assessment came after they decided that soaking the rich and taking an axe to public spending in the Autumn Statement will not be enough to balance the books.

Instead, broad-based tax rises will be needed, with speculation that thresholds will be frozen for longer to drag millions of people deeper into the system by ‘stealth’. 

The government is expected to stick to manifesto pledges not to hike the headline rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT.

Meanwhile, public sector workers could face a 2 per cent cap on pay rises next year, far below the expected rate of inflation, as the government seeks to split the fiscal tightening 50-50 between trimming spending and raising revenue.    

A Treasury source said: ‘It is going to be rough. The truth is that everybody will need to contribute more in tax if we are to maintain public services.

‘After borrowing hundreds of billions of pounds through Covid-19 and implementing massive energy bills support, we won’t be able to fill the fiscal black hole through spending cuts alone.’

They added that Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society during the ‘difficult period’ ahead. 

In other developments as the country braces for a punishing few years: 

• Suella Braverman is facing a backlash today over her ‘inflammatory’ warning that Channel migrants are ‘invading’ Britain; 
• There are claims that the Home Secretary refused to approve migrants being moved into hotels in Tory areas;
• The Bank of England has started selling government debt accumulated during its quantitative easing programme ; 
• A poll has shown Mr Sunak is preferred to Keir Starmer as PM, with Labour’s advantage dropping from near record highs.  

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt agreed at a meeting on Monday it is ‘inevitable’ that all taxpayers will face a higher burden in the coming years

Mr Hunt battled through the rain as he arrives for the Cabinet meeting in Downing Street today

Suella Braverman fronted up to the cameras as she faces a struggle to cling on as Home Secretary

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan and Transport Secretary Mark Harper were among ministers attending Cabinet this morning

A report from the Resolution Foundation think-tank said Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt face an ‘unpalatable menu’ when it comes to rebalancing the nation’s finances

Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty buy poppies, and a special ‘poppy’ dog collar for their pet Labrador Nova from representatives of the Royal British Legion