Jeremy Hunt has signalled tax cuts will only come “when the time is right” and be matched by “spending restraint”. In a speech at Bloomberg designed to set out ambitions for achieving Rishi Sunak’s pledge to grow the economy, Hunt sought to temper restive Conservative backbenchers’ expectations ahead of the budget in March. The chancellor said he hoped to inject what he described as much-needed optimism about the country’s future, saying he wanted Britain to “have nothing less than the most competitive tax regime of any major country”. He also targeted economic inactivity and urged those who retired early after the Covid pandemic, or struggled to find a new job after the furlough scheme ended, to rejoin the workforce. Hunt was criticised by the public sector union Unison for “not even trying” to unlock the health pay stalemate after his speech this morning failed to address the ongoing dispute that risks dragging on for months. The chancellor’s “grand vision for the future completely ignores vital public services”, Unison’s general secretary, Christina McAnea, said in a statement. Business groups also criticised Hunt’s speech for being “empty” and having “little meat on the bones of his vision”. Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the Conservatives “have no plan for now, and no plan for the future”. Rishi Sunak has said his government is “committed to delivering all the plans that it’s announced with rail” following reports that it was considering scaling the HS2 high-speed rail project back because of rising costs. His chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, also said he did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which the planned Euston terminus would not go ahead. Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, has urged teachers and school leaders in England to keep schools open for the sake of children during the strikes that start next week. The National Education Union’s members will kick off planned industrial action with a national strike on 1 February that is expected to affect many schools in England and Wales. The former Conservative party chairman, Jake Berry, has said Rishi Sunak should have held an “endorsement vote” to show he had the support of the party’s membership. A faction of Conservative members feel they were “denied a vote”, while there is a “perception” that Tory MPs are “disconnected from our membership”, Berry told GB News. Carol Vorderman has demanded Rishi Sunak be investigated for insider trading and called for more “accountability and transparency” within the government. Vorderman referred to a November 2020 from the Guardian on Sunak refusing to disclose whether he would profit from a surge in the share price of Moderna, one of the biggest investments held by the hedge fund he co-founded before entering parliament. Matt Hancock has so far donated just 3% of the fee he was paid for appearing on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! to charity, it has been revealed. Earlier this month Hancock declared he had earned £45,000 from appearing on another reality TV show – Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Boris Johnson picked up an advance of more than £500,000 for his forthcoming memoir, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests. It comes after MPs were told on Thursday that taxpayers may face a bill of more than £222,000 to cover Johnson’s legal fees to defend himself in the Partygate inquiry.