Trevor Phillips grills Liz Truss on taxes
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Inside sources have claimed that Ms Truss is expected to put tax cuts at the centre of a campaign, as she was just one of three ministers who argued against the increase to National Insurance contributions when they were discussed at Cabinet. Mr Sunak, however, backed the rise as it was preferable to further borrowing.
As a result, one minister has alleged that Ms Truss may run her campaign around the slogan “axe the Rishi tax”, heaping blame on the Chancellor.
National Insurance payments will increase in April, as part of an attempt to fund social care in England and help the NHS recover after the pandemic.
Employees, employers and the self-employed will all pay 1.25p more per pound for National Insurance from April 2022.
The Government has said that the changes are expected to raise £12billion a year to help support the NHS.
The changes have attracted criticism, as campaigners say it will hit lower-income households the hardest.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has warned that there will be a 30 percent rise in households unable to buy basic essentials this spring.
Urging the Government to reconsider the move, the think tank highlighted that more than one million UK households could be classed as destitute following the rise.
Speaking about the potential leadership race between the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary, an insider told the Times that the race has already begun.
They said: “The cat is out of the bag, the race has started behind closed doors.
“It’s a question of when.”
But one ally of the Prime Minister was disparaging about both candidates.
They said: “If you look at Rishi he looks like a diminished person.
“If you look at Liz she just looks faintly opportunist.
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“So then where do you go after that?”
Mr Johnson has been facing increasing calls to resign over the Partygate scandal.
He has already made several new appointments in Downing Street as part of an attempt to overhaul his image and secure his hold on power.
Earlier this week, Downing Street confirmed that police have issued Mr Johnson with a questionnaire asking for his account of the parties, a prelude to a fixed penalty notice.
But an ally of the Prime Minister implied that it may be difficult to persuade him to resign, saying: “He considers himself a democratically elected prime minister with a huge mandate.
“He is not going to walk off stage. The party stuff is yet to be put to any sort of accurate electorate test.
“He is an enormous democrat. He has been elected, he serves at the will of the people. It’s a fact for him.”
But another ally added: “Do you want the Metropolitan Police deciding who the prime minister is?
“They have to be very certain [before issuing a fine].”
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