AS SERVICES and support collapse and dozens of councils across the country face section 114 bankruptcy, Rishi Sunak claimed today that “you can trust me when I say that we can start to responsibly cut taxes.”

The Prime Minister made the remarks in a speech at a London college ahead of the Autumn Statement tomorrow.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget statement will set out tax and spending plans that will set out the Tory stall for the next general election.

Faced with balancing calls from his party to slash taxes in a bid to boost support in the looming general election with attempts to divorce himself from the disastrous mini-budget of last year, Mr Sunak said: “It will take discipline and we need to prioritise. But over time, we can and we will cut taxes.”

The claims of discipline were met with incredulity from Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden, who said: “It sums up this Conservative Party to claim things will be better tomorrow when they can’t even fix the problems of today.

“After 13 years of Conservative governments, working people have been left worse off and the Conservative economic record lies in tatters.”

Meanwhile, the SNP’s Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison has written to Mr Hunt to caution against ill-timed tax breaks for the wealthy.

Ms Robison wrote: “The Autumn Statement must learn the lessons from last year’s mini budget — it must not compound these problems with ill-timed tax breaks which would place even greater pressure on the public finances.”

A Treasury spokesman said spending was growing and debt falling, adding: “The Autumn Statement will focus on how we get the economy growing healthily again by unlocking investment, getting people back into work and reforming our public services so we can deliver the growth our country needs.”