DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Shift stealth tax into reverse, Chancellor

Dark matter, the nature of time and supermassive black holes are all among the unfathomable mysteries of the universe.

By contrast, voters liking tax cuts should have no one scratching their heads.

It's no surprise, then, that the Tories bounced back in the polls after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement delivered the biggest tax-reducing boost for workers and firms in modern times.

Despite the 2p cut to National Insurance, forecasts warn the tax millstone will still get heavier for several years.

With the Conservatives trailing Labour by 19 points, it is therefore vital the Government unveils other eye-catching, crowd-pleasing measures. So the news that Mr Hunt is thinking seriously about ending the freeze on tax thresholds in the Spring Budget is to be warmly welcomed.

To help pay off the country's gargantuan Covid support debts, the Treasury announced in 2021 that they would remain static for six years.

This sneaky assault – known as 'fiscal drag' – has pulled millions of ordinary workers into taxation for the first time or left them paying higher rates. The sleight of hand has led to record revenues, but has deprived earners of an extra £45 billion a year – five times the original estimate.

Yet many of these people are hard-working, aspirational, self-reliant middle Britain personified. Ambitious for themselves and their families, they are the beating heart of our society. And crucially, they are likely to be innate conservatives.

While it's shameful a Tory government has been so determined to penalise them with this pernicious stealth tax, it is not too late for the Chancellor to shunt it into reverse.

There is talk of Mr Hunt vowing to unfreeze thresholds in the election manifesto. But to convince voters the Tories will set taxation on a downward trajectory, he should start lifting them in the Budget.

After the Autumn Statement, Rishi Sunak woke up to the most positive front pages his government has had in months.

If he is serious about winning the next election, they must take the fight to Labour by sticking to Conservative principles.

The most basic of these is that individuals are wiser at spending their own hard-earned cash than governments – and should be left with as much of it as possible.

Blind eye to tensions

What would anyone who relied on the BBC or mainstream Irish media for their news have concluded from the coverage of the rioting in Dublin?

They might have got the strong impression the violent clashes – between thugs and police – and torched vehicles was the result of a random outbreak of lawlessness.

This would have been reinforced by Irish politicians and police rushing to blame a far-Right faction for fuelling disorder.

The actual trigger was almost relegated to a secondary detail. That was the stabbing of four people, including three schoolchildren. The allegation quickly spread online that the attacker was an immigrant – and the touchpaper was lit.

What followed can't be excused. But the establishment highlighting the far-Right element signals a troubling instinct to sweep tensions over immigration under the carpet. The alleged attacker has been an Irish citizen for 20 years. But the truth is, many in Ireland feel as if their concerns about mass migration are being ignored.

By demonising them as extremists, the politicians discourage open debate and intimidate individuals into silence.

Intertwined with Ireland's housing crisis, poverty and disaffected youth, this was a tinderbox that ignited on Thursday night.

No one can condone the actions of the rioters, who should be punished.

But by turning a blind eye to the reasons for social unrest, however uncomfortable they may be, politicians and the Left-wing media do our countries a great disservice.