100 Tories revolt as PM warned £12bn tax grab could cost him Election

BORIS JOHNSON faces a 100strong Tory protest over his controversial £12 billion social care programme amid claims it could cost him the next Election.

Former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith spearheaded mounting protests last night at a ‘chaotic’ tax hike plan, which set the Government adrift from true Conservative values.

But party MPs in seats seized from Labour in the North of England and Midlands went further to brand the National Insurance rise a disaster that spelt ‘doom’ for the party at the next Election.

One said privately: ‘This is a Red Wall tax in all but name and it’s a gift to Labour.’

The fears come amid research from the TaxPayers’ Alliance that the new NI levy will disproportionately affect workers in Northern England and the Midlands, as well as working people compared to the retired. Rebels now claim there are as many as 100 Tory MPs in a socalled ‘awkward squad’ organising against the plans. And they warned that revolts in further votes on the plans this week could surpass last week’s, where five Tories voted against and more than 35 abstained despite being warned they could bring down the Government if the measure was defeated.

Senior Tory MP Marcus Fysh last night warned: ‘Without much greater explanation and concessions, the Government faces a potentially much greater rebellion from the Tory benches this week.’

Branding the tax rise plans ‘illthought-out’, he added that the Tories abandoned their ‘hardearned’ reputation as the party of low taxes ‘at our peril’. Leaders of the group are set to meet Chancellor Rishi Sunak tomorrow ahead of further votes on the NI proposals on Tuesday in a debate on the Health and Social Care Levy Bill.

In a hugely controversial move last week, the Prime Minister ordered Tory MPs to vote though a 1.25 per cent rise in NI from next April, initially to raise £36billion in three years mostly to combat Covid-related NHS waiting lists and then to fund radical reforms to help spare people having to sell their homes to fund social care.

Mr Johnson justified the move by insisting his Government ‘will not duck the tough decisions needed to get NHS patients the treatment they need and to fix our broken social care system’.

But the NI rise – breaking a clear manifesto pledge in the 2019 election manifesto that delivered Mr Johnson an 80-strong majority in the Commons – has plunged his party into a bitter civil war and identity crisis. Speaking to the MoS, David Mellor – who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government – criticised Mr Johnson for committing a ‘fundamental breach’ of Conservative principles.

There were also complaints that last week’s vote was only won because Tory whips ‘bullied’ new MPs into believing the measure amounted to a ‘vote of confidence’ in Mr Johnson and the Government could fall if it was defeated.

And there was anger over claims that No10 had deliberately fuelled rumours of a reshuffle to deter rebels hopeful of a ministerial job or promotion. Last night, party insiders said the PM may have made an error by not holding the reshuffle last Thursday as trailed.

They warned Mr Johnson risked becoming ‘the boy who cried wolf’ if reshuffles were endlessly mooted without actually taking place.

Last night, another Minister dismissed talk of a further major revolt, claiming that Tory rebels had made their protest last week.

Meanwhile, it emerged last night

‘A Red Wall tax in all but name – a gift to Labour’

that an analysis produced by HM Revenue & Customs predicted that the 1.25 per cent increase in National Insurance could lead to the breakdown of families, and deter firms from hiring new staff and increasing wages. According to The Sunday Telegraph, the impact assessment warned there ‘may be an impact on family formation, stability or breakdown as individuals, who are currently just about managing financially, will see their disposable income reduce’.