Philip Hammond is planning a Budget raid on older workers to pay for tax breaks for younger people as he battles to save his job. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is understood to be examining ways to link tax to age to promote “intergenerational fairness” in next month’s Budget.

Tax breaks would be offered to workers in their 20s and 30s, paid for by cutting reliefs for older and better off workers.

One Whitehall source said the Budget, to be unveiled on Nov 22, would be a “bold” attempt to “restack the deck for the next generation”.

The policy, already dubbed a "tax on age", will be controversial because it will target voters who are more likely to vote Conservative. The Tories' disastrous election result in June was blamed on a poorly-thought through "dementia tax".

It comes as Mr Hammond is fighting for his job.

One idea being considered in Downing Street is covering the cost of a cut in National Insurance Contributions for workers in their 20s and 30s by slashing pension tax relief for older wage earners.

Mr Hammond’s plans were backed by George Freeman, the head of the Prime Minister’s policy unit, who is calling for a “New Deal for the Next Generation”.