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Rishi Sunak has refused to commit to tax cuts before the next election despite growing calls for giveaways from his cabinet and backbenchers.
As the Conservatives gathered in Manchester on Sunday for the start of four days of the party’s annual conference, the Prime Minister said his first priority was to curb inflation.
While he stressed he wanted tax cuts, he told the BBC: “The best ‘tax cut’ I can offer the British people right now is to halve the rate of inflation.”
Upgrading secretary Michael Gove stepped up pressure on Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt to take further steps, telling Sky News “taxes are higher than we would like”. “I would like to see the tax burden reduced before the next election,” he said.
As the government considers cutting inheritance tax – or even scrapping it entirely – as a potential giveaway ahead of the election, Gove has issued a warning to Downing Street to focus tax cuts on helping workers rather than helping the wealthier and older Enter the voters.
“My personal view is that wherever possible we should cut jobs tax,” Gove said. “In other words, we should incentivize people to work harder, and we should ensure that they are better rewarded for the career, effort and effort they put into it.”
His intervention came after the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank warned this week that tax would rise by £3,500 per household since 2019, a record increase for any council.
More than 30 Conservative MPs signed a pledge not to vote for further tax rises after the IFS report was released. The right-wing Conservatives, including former prime minister Liz Truss, are expected to use the party conference rally to make new demands for specific tax cuts to be included in the party’s manifesto.
As well as tax, the future outline of HS2 is also likely to be a dominant theme at the conference. Sunak was forced to insist on Sunday that the UK was not a “laughing stock” as he refused to comment on whether plans for the Birmingham-Manchester high-speed rail project would go ahead.
He said he “totally” rejected criticism that the scaled back blueprint would damage investor confidence in the UK, but refused to confirm his thoughts on the future of HS2, insisting he would not comment on “speculation”.
Appearing on the BBC, Sunak faced a “word cloud” from a survey which suggested his personal wealth was the quality most associated with him in the minds of voters.
He was also challenged by comments from Iceland boss Richard Walker, who claimed the Conservatives were “out of touch” with business, the environment and the needs of “ordinary people”.
Walker announced in the Observer that he was quitting the party – revoking his membership and withdrawing from the congressional candidate list. Conservative insiders accused him of expressing sour grapes towards the party over his failure to win seats so far.
Sunak stood by his actions to scale back net zero policies and prioritize working people, adding: “Changes may make people uncomfortable…” . I believe in doing the right thing for the country. “
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Kemi Badenock said Britain’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights “needs to be on the table” and the Conservatives must have an “honest conversation” about the prospect.
Days earlier, Home Secretary Suella Braverman also threatened that the UK could withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights if it blocked the government’s Rwandan deportation policy. She told The Sunday Times The presentation may spark debate around the topic at the conference.
Many One Nation Conservative MPs are firmly opposed to quitting the conference, and several cabinet ministers have rejected the idea, according to colleagues.
Sunak has so far insisted that his government can “stop ships” in a way that is consistent with the country’s international obligations, but criticism of the government’s handling of clandestine migration has grown.
The prime minister is facing growing pressure to take a tougher stance on the issue, which has surpassed the economy as the most important issue for Conservative voters, according to pollster YouGov.
While Conservative loyalists will mainly focus on Manchester’s domestic agenda, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps set his sights on Britain’s support for Ukraine in a pre-meeting interview.
He told the Sunday Telegraph he had been in contact with British Army leaders about the idea of deploying British troops to Ukraine to train Kiev forces. The British military is currently training Ukrainian personnel in the UK.
However, an administration official said the idea of moving the program to Ukraine was a “long-term ambition” and that there were no “imminent or ongoing” plans.
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