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How about just doing what helps people instead of what makes a good headline for your base?

Cabinet ministers concede that it is not enough and are privately urging Sunak to bring forward tax cuts and uprate benefits. “We need to get it done now,” one cabinet minister said. “We need to get money back in people’s pockets.”

Behind the scenes one minister said Johnson and Sunak were struggling to come up with a package that was both targeted enough to help those who were struggling most from the cost-of-living crisis and eye-catching enough to “politically sing”.

There is, fundamentally, an issue of political expediency. While there is near universal agreement among economists that targeted support for those who most need it is the best approach, Sunak and Johnson are leaning towards a cut in income tax or VAT.

“The problem is that what looks good in terms of helping the bottom 10 per cent doesn’t necessarily make good headlines,” one minister said.

“You can cut income tax but that helps people who don’t necessarily need the help or you could cut council tax for the poorest households, but you might not get the political credit for it. These are no simple solutions but meanwhile it is getting grisly out there.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2aa4b5f6-d304-11ec-9d8b-0826aa666f4f?shareToken=b90c5337925af2ecf8ac8d3f8fb340b5