Leadership contest to start tomorrow
THE identity of the next Prime Minister will be revealed on September 5 with the Conservative leadership election kicking off tomorrow.
Nominations to replace Boris Johnson will close today with candidates requiring the support of 20 MPs to stand, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, has said.
The first ballot of Tory MPs will take place tomorrow and the list of contenders will be whittled down until just two remain, with the winner decided by a postal ballot of party members.
The rules were announced last night after another dramatic day of political infighting that one of the top Tory contenders, Sajid Javid, called ‘poisonous’.
Mr Javid, whose Cabinet resignation began the cascade that forced the Prime Minister out, warned rivals: “This isn’t House of Cards.”
He set out an estimated £40 billion of plans to scrap the corporation tax hike and the national insurance (NI) levy he previously backed and to bring forward an income tax cut.
The former health secretary’s proposals came with details on where the money would come from, but other MPs were criticised for failing to show their workings. Yesterday the Tory bidding war included:
■ Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi pledging to cut income tax in 2023 and 2024 and abolish green levies on energy bills for two years.
■ Attorney General Suella Braverman arguing there is “no alternative but radical tax cuts” amid a cost-of-living crisis.
■ Foreign Secretary Liz Truss vowing to cut taxes “from day one” and scrapping the NI hike that hit in April.
■ Jeremy Hunt, who has been both health and foreign secretary, expressing a desire to “cut all taxes” in a BBC interview.
A row broke out among the campaigns, with former Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick criticising rivals for pledging unachievable tax cuts at a time when the party’s “credibility” is under strain.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Tories of plucking £200 billion of uncosted commitments from the “magic money tree” in an “arms race of fantasy economics”.
Mr Javid, a former chancellor, launched his campaign with a “new Conservative economic plan” to include scrapping the rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%.
He argued his three tax cuts would cost around £40 billion in 2024/25 would be paid under current fiscal headroom and “new efficiencies” in Government.
But he was dogged by questions over his non-domiciled status before entering politics. Mr Javid, who worked in banking, refused to say where he had been based for tax purposes.
Eleven candidates have entered the race so far, with Home Secretary Priti Patel and Brexit opportunities minister Jacob ReesMogg also believed to be considering runs.
Ms Braverman and Mr Zahawi made speeches at the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group as they try to win the support of fellow MPs.
Mr Zahawi, who was appointed Chancellor shortly before moving to oust Mr Johnson, said tax and spending had been “skyrocketing”. He said he would reduce income tax to 19p next year and 18p a year later.
Ms Truss, seen as one of the likely frontrunners, formally entered the race with a slick video under the tagline “Trusted to deliver”. The Foreign Secretary highlighted her work on trade deals and the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps released a video touting his experience as a campaigner, while Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee who has never been a minister, pledged to cut taxes on jobs and fuel and painted his candidacy as a “clean start”.
Mr Johnson insisted the outcome of the bid to replace him “will be good” but he declined to back any of the candidates.