MPS tell Sunak: Scrap stamp duty for a prosperous Britain

MPS led by Liz Truss have urged Rishi Sunak to scrap stamp duty and increase the higher rate tax threshold to deliver a more prosperous Britain.

The former prime minister has joined with other MPS on the Right of the Conservative Party to present Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt with a 10-point plan to change course.

Along with MPS including Sir Jacob Rees-mogg, they also call on Mr Sunak to toughen up immigration rules so that a criminal conviction nullifies an indefinite leave to remain.

The 10-point plan was published by the Legatum Institute think tank.

Among the MPS’ other demands is action to cut childcare costs and to allow mass planning permissions in London in a bid to ease the housing shortage.

They call on the Prime Minister to abolish non-financial reporting requirements for businesses, and say the IR35 tax rules – which target those who work off-payroll – should be scrapped because most are Tory voters. The MPS demanded an end to the “socialist” public sector equality duty, meaning councils will no longer have to carry out equality impact assessments.

And they also want a repeal of more EU laws and a reduction in the number of quangos. This would be done by ensuring there is a Parliamentary vote after a certain number of years to decide whether they should continue. Ms Truss said: “There are far too many unelected, unaccountable bodies exercising power over the heads of elected ministers. It is vital that Parliament is able to shut down any of these bodies. This is a first step on the road to restoring democratic accountability to the administrative state and Parliamentary sovereignty.”

The letter is also signed by Sir Brandon Lewis, Ranil Jayawardena, Andrew Lewer, Greg Smith, Brendan Clarkesmith, David Jones and Miriam Cates.

Sir Jacob said: “This briefing by the Legatum Institute shows exactly how government should be done. The ideas here can be delivered efficiently and they are politically and economically sound.”