Tory mayor calls for tax rises over spending cuts in Rishi Sunak’s autumn budget

‘A little extra tax’ needed to support public services valued by public, says Andy Street

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has urged the new PM to raise taxes rather than cut services (PA)

The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has issued a plea to Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt to raise taxes rather than cut public services in their crucial autumn statement next month.

Whitehall sources suggest that Mr Sunak favours a 50/50 split between tax rises and spending reductions in the 17 November statement, when Mr Hunt will try to fill a gap in the public finances estimated at around £40bn.

But Andy Street warned that voters around the country will see any withdrawal of funding from services like health and policing as an indication of the government failing to support their communities, as Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” manifesto promised in 2019.