Rishi Sunak faces new pressure from Tory MPs demanding corporation tax cuts – led by former Prime Minister Liz Truss
- 33 Tory MPs have signed letter warning Mr Sunak they will not support tax rises
- UK tax burden is at its highest since records began, according to IFS figures
Rishi Sunak is today facing a mounting revolt from Conservative MPs demanding tax cuts – spearheaded by his predecessor Liz Truss.
As the Tories gathered for their annual conference in Manchester, Ms Truss was poised to urge the Prime Minister to slash Corporation Tax to ‘unleash British business’.
And in a thinly veiled rebuke of Mr Sunak’s stewardship, the former PM will say that the Tories must become ‘the party of business once again’.
The call – to be made in a ‘Great British Growth Rally’ tomorrow – came as more Tory MPs signed a pledge not to vote for any increase in the overall tax burden.
Ex-party chairman Sir Jake Berry – who last week disclosed that 33 Tories had already backed the plan – told The Mail on Sunday that support for the tax vow was growing.
Rishi Sunak is facing demands to cut Corporation Tax from Tory MPs including former prime minister Liz Truss
It commits the MPs to not vote in favour of the Government’s Autumn Statement, due in November, if it raises the overall tax burden.
Water bill hikes to be revealed
Hard-pressed consumers will tomorrow learn the scale of future water bills amid fears some could rise by as much as 50 per cent by the end of the decade.
Water companies in England and Wales must submit business plans for the period 2025-2030 to regulator Ofwat by midday. Severn Trent Water has signalled bills will rise by almost 37 per cent by 2030.
Last night, Labour claimed the water industry and its regulatory framework ‘are broken’.
A Tory Party source said: ‘If Labour had a credible plan they would be using it.’
Brendan Carlin, Political Correspondent
The revolt comes amid warnings that the UK currently has the highest taxes since records began, with the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies warning of a ‘decisive and permanent shift’ to a higher-tax economy.
Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt sought to calm Tory nerves by promising to end ‘the vicious circle of ever-rising taxes’ by reforming benefits and getting savings from the soaring cost of public services.
To that end, Mr Hunt said he would launch ‘the ‘biggest transformation’ of public services in a generation and that the State needed to become ‘more productive’, not bigger.
Last night, Sir Jake welcomed the Chancellor’s intervention, saying it was ‘really positive’ the Government was ‘in listening mode’.
He added: ‘The polls are narrowing as they pursue Conservative policies. But we are still going to pursue this tax pledge because it’s a pledge to our own constituents rather than the party.’
Sir Jake claimed the vow was ‘a pledge for life’ – not just for the next financial statement.
So if taxes fell in the future, the MPs would never vote to bring them back up.
The scheme has already been backed by former Cabinet Ministers including Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dame Priti Patel, as well as Ms Truss.
Last night, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith confirmed that he had added his name. He told The Mail on Sunday that the pledge was part of ‘releasing the inner Tory’ by reassuring the public there will be no more overall rises in the tax burden.
At the growth rally, to be attended by Sir Jacob and Dame Priti, Ms Truss will imply criticism of Mr Sunak’s stewardship of the economy.
Ms Truss will tell the ‘Great British Growth Rally’ on Sunday that the Government must reduce the tax burden to stop companies moving abroad and small businesses shutting up shop
She will declare: ‘Ahead of this year’s Autumn Statement, we must make the Conservative Party the party of business once again, by getting Corporation Tax back down to 19 per cent. This is how we make Britain grow again. We must unleash British business by cutting Corporation Tax.
‘We can’t stand idly while companies like AstraZeneca move operations abroad because of our huge tax burden and small businesses shut up shop, drowning in red tape.’
She will add: ‘[The Government] should be hungry to attract the world’s best businesses and encourage people to start businesses here at home.
‘We must not normalise the raiding of businesses’ coffers. Only free businesses can get Britain out of its 25-year economic stagnation.
‘Only free businesses can create the economic growth and tax revenues on which public services rely.’
However, one Left-leaning Tory MP condemned the tax pledge as ‘designed to wound the Party and the PM.’
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