Boris: May must cut taxes to help Britain thrive post-brexit
Tories must show a desire to help the hard workers and the hard-pressed with pledge to end rate rises
By Kate Mccann Senior Political correspondent
THERESA MAY must cut taxes to help “striving” families and give Britain a post-brexit economic boost, Boris Johnson says today.
The former foreign secretary calls on the Prime Minister to promise that “tax henceforward will not go up. That’s it. No new taxes and no increase in rates” under a Conservative government. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson says Mrs May should cut income tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax to benefit Britain’s economy.
He also asks whether the Prime Minister truly wants to cut taxes, writing: “Do we send out that signal, here in this country? I am not so sure.”
Mr Johnson argues that Mrs May should follow Donald Trump’s lead in America, which has “growth rates far in excess of this country” and low unemployment, adding: “That is the way to get the economy going.”
The MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip adds: “Now is the time for this Conservative government to show how a post-brexit Britain will be a happy and dynamic economy that fosters enterprise, that rewards the strivers and the innovators, and where people can hope to take home more of their pay to their families.”
The remarks will do little to dampen speculation that he is preparing to make his pitch to take over as Conservative leader, perhaps as early as the party’s annual conference next month.
Mr Johnson has been hit by claims about his private life in recent days, including speculation about his close relationship with former Conservative director of communications Carrie Symonds. Neither has commented.
The MP and his wife, Marina, last week confirmed their intention to divorce but over the weekend allies of the former Cabinet minister claimed there was a concerted effort by some Tory colleagues to “smear” his reputation ahead of any leadership bid.
His comments will come as a blow to Mrs May, who has built her premiership on helping so-called just-aboutmanaging earners. Other Conservative MPS have also spoken of concerns that taxes may be raised to pay for extra spending. Currently, the top one per cent of earners pay 28 per cent of income tax – close to an all-time record.
In his column, Mr Johnson also takes aim at government waste and highlights reports that bad planning has hugely increased the cost of HS2, which he believes should be scrapped.
The money should be spent on health, he says, writing: “We do need to spend more on the NHS. We must find the extra £20billion that the Chancellor has rightly promised. We do need to step up our investments in the police and schools and other vital public services.
“But I am afraid I am not convinced that the answer is immediately to turn to the hard-pressed taxpayer, when Britain is now by no means a low-tax economy compared to several other jurisdictions in Europe.”
ALLIES of Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, have hit back after Downing Street was accused of compiling a “dirty dossier” designed to damage his reputation.
Friends claim the Prime Minister’s team drew it up when he was thought to be in contention to replace David Cameron as Tory leader in 2016.
A row erupted yesterday over allegations that Mr Johnson had been deliberately smeared, as Conservative MPS openly criticised him for accusing Theresa May of wrapping a “suicide vest” around Britain in the Brexit talks. A Foreign Office minister and former colleague even vowed to end his political career because of the remark.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson had said: “We have opened ourselves to perpetual political blackmail. We have wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution – and handed the detonator to Michel Barnier.
“We have given him a jemmy with which Brussels can choose at any time to crack apart the union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla.”
Mr Johnson also lashed out at the Northern Ireland “backstop”, the measure aimed at ensuring no hard border with Ireland. According to the EU, if no trade deal with the UK resolved the issue, Northern Ireland would effectively remain part of the single market.
Ministers, including the Home Secretary, criticised Mr Johnson’s analogy. “I think there are much better ways to articulate your differences,” Sajid Javid told the BBC. Former army officer Tom Tugendhat, viewed as a possible rival in a leadership contest, said: “A suicide bomber murdered many in the courtyard of my office in Helmand. Comparing the PM to that isn’t funny.”
But allies said No 10 must answer for the creation of the document. One said it was the latest in a dirty tricks campaign that began with criticism of Mr Johnson’s comments on the burka.
Mr Johnson’s article came amid intense speculation about his relationship with ex-conservative director of communications Carrie Symonds, days after he and his wife, Marina, confirmed their divorce.
As the row intensified last night,
Tory MP Zac Goldsmith backed Mr Johnson by questioning the principles of his critic, Sir Alan Duncan. Sir Alan, a close colleague in the Foreign Office and still a minister, tweeted: “For Boris to say that the PM’S view is like that of a suicide bomber is too much. This marks one of the most disgusting moments in modern British politics. I’m sorry, but this is the political end of Boris Johnson. If it isn’t now, I will make sure it is later.”
Mr Goldsmith hit back, writing: “There are a number of possible motives behind this tweet, but given its author, we can be certain ‘principles’ aren’t one of them.”