Tory party demand tax cuts NOW to avoid election loss (2024)

Rattled Tories have demanded Rishi Sunak cut taxes to 'save the party from oblivion' after the latest polling claimed they are heading for an unprecedented Election defeat.

The call came as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt admitted to The Mail on Sunday that two cuts to National Insurance had failed to swing public opinion behind the Conservatives.

He revealed the Prime Minister called an early Election as he believed a third cut was also unlikely to move the political dial – and because lower interest rates would take too long to be registered by voters.

However, Popular Conservatism, a Right-wing movement launched by ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss and known as PopCons, said big cuts to the likes of stamp duty and inheritance tax should be among the 'core Conservative principles' in the party manifesto.

Tory candidates reacted with horror to a poll revealed in yesterday's Daily Mail which forecast Labour could win a majority of more than 300, with the Conservatives reduced to a rump of between 66 and 72 MPs.

The megapoll by Electoral Calculus suggests the party is heading for its worst Election trouncing in history – although Tory strategists have questioned its methodology.

However, Hunt today questions the political effectiveness of tax cut promises.

Asked why Sunak had not delayed the Election until the autumn, allowing more potential cuts such as the previous two 2p reductions to National Insurance (NI), he told the MoS: 'The fact that we've had two significant taxcuts that haven't really changed the polls demonstrates to me that having a third one with the same again is unlikely to change the calculus'.

He added: 'The Bank of England's view is that there's an 18-month delay between changing interest rates and it impacting on people's finances... so the idea that you have a drop in interest rates and suddenly everyone feels good... is to underestimate how people are making this decision'.

And Sunak told this newspaper: 'We are already delivering a tax cut worth £900 for working people this year.

'That didn't happen by accident, that happened because of our management of the economy and is a reflection of our values. I believe hard work should be rewarded. We are going to prioritise cutting taxes for people who are working hard.'

The PopCons released a five-point plan for the manifesto to 'save the Tory Party from oblivion on July 4, while supporting the UK economy and taxpayers and ensuring 'Rishi Sunak's legacy is not one of destroying the most successful political party in history'.

The group – which Truss launched in February to rally the Tory Right – said Sunak should vow to abolish the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which Truss blames for helping wreck her tax-cutting plans during her short stint in Downing Street, and limit the powers of the Bank of England.

Both moves would, the PopCons said, 'break the stagnant economic consensus, make Britain grow again and enable meaningful tax cuts'.

The group also called for the UK to 'take back control of our borders' by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, which lawyers have used to block the deportation of migrants; scrap the 2050 Net Zero emissions target; abolish the Equality Act to end 'divisive, woke and anti-capitalist political campaigns'; and reform the civil service to try to stop it blocking Government policy.

In the MoS, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the PopCons' director of communications, writes that the OBR should be abolished to 'return control of the UK's budget to an elected Chancellor'.

The sister of former Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg added: 'Core Conservative principles – small government, low tax, security and personal freedom – can still win votes.'

The Tory row came as:

• Rishi Sunak told the MoS that 'Angela Rayner is in charge of Labour' after the deputy leader pressured her boss Keir Starmer to let Diane Abbott stand for the party

• A senior ally of Sir Keir said Abbott had been backed by the hard-Left Socialist Action group in her successful fight

• A new poll focused on the economy found that despite the NI cuts, more voters link Tories to tax hikes than Labour – and found income tax cuts would be the most popular fiscal change a party could back

• Some Tories called for Boris Johnson to be parachuted in as a candidate before nominations close on Friday, with one saying he would 'halve the losses' – although another supporter said: 'We're out of time – Sunak will reap what he sowed'

• Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told The Mail on Sunday that he no longer travels on public transport after receiving death threats over his stance on Gaza

• Sir Keir responded to the band D:Ream's ban on Labour reusing their song Things Can Only Get Better as its Election anthem, as Tony Blair did, by saying: 'Look, we're not in 1997, we're in 2024.'

The new economic survey found that 40 per cent of voters regard the Tories as the party they most associate with tax rises, while just 29 per cent hold that view of Labour.

It also found that 45 per cent of people would be more likely to vote for any party that advocated income tax cuts. The next most popular reductions any Chancellor could make would be to stamp duty and inheritance tax.

The Obsurvant poll for Charlesbye Strategy, found that 42 per cent of people say that the economy and the cost of living will be the key factor in how they vote, followed by NHS waiting lists and immigration.

When asked who they trust more to handle the economy, 61 per cent say Labour compared to 39 per cent Tory.

Pollsters interviewed 2,028 people yesterday and Friday.

Labour sought to humiliate the Tories yesterday by branding their plans as bad as Jeremy Corbyn's 2019 manifesto. Campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden mocked Sunak for unveiling £70 billion of uncosted spending commitments so far.

The Tories dismissed the calculations as 'ludicrous' , with a spokesman saying the same methodology would 'expose a £211 billion-a-year black hole' in Labour's policies.

Charlesbye Strategy partner Lee Cain said: 'Trust with the nation's finances has traditionally been firm Tory territory, so this poll will be a devastating blow to the party.

'The Conservatives' economic credibility was badly damaged by Liz Truss's mini-Budget, but despite an improving economic situation, Rishi Sunak has been unable to change these perceptions.'