£100,000 a year ‘doesn’t go as far as you might think’, claims Chancellor

The Chancellor appeared to double down on his assertion that £100,000 a year is “not a huge salary” for people in his constituency after opposition critics accused him of being out of touch.

Jeremy Hunt said the money “doesn’t go as far as you might think” in south-west Surrey, but appeared to rule out a review of childcare funding to benefit higher-earning parents in this Parliament.

Mr Hunt was derided over the weekend for making the claim in a post on X about calls he had been making to residents as part of his work as an MP.

What sounds like a large salary – when you have house prices averaging around £670,000 in my area and you’ve got a mortgage and childcare costs – it doesn’t go as far as you might think

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt

Asked whether he regretted the post, he told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “What sounds like a large salary – when you have house prices averaging around £670,000 in my area and you’ve got a mortgage and childcare costs – it doesn’t go as far as you might think.

“We weren’t able to afford to fund childcare for people on the higher salaries but I was simply saying that’s something I’d love to be able to look at in the next parliament.”

The UK’s median gross annual salary for full-time employees was £34,963 in April 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.