Rishi Sunak hits threshold for PM race; gets support from 20 MPs

Pledges tax cuts once inflation is under control

Former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday emerged as one of the early candidates to hit the threshold of 20 supporting Conservative Party members of Parliament for his nomination to compete for the post of leader and the next British PM, to be announced on September 5. The 42-year-old British Indian MP for Richmond in Yorkshire maintains his lead in the race to replace Boris Johnson as nominations formally opened for the contest. The prime ministerial hopefuls have until 6 pm local time to get their nominations in, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat the others in the running to hit the requisite 20-MPs mark.

Others expected to run include: Attorney General Suella Braverman, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Nigerian-origin Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Trans­port Secretary Grant Shapps, Foreign Office Minister Rehman Chishti and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid. Priti Patel, Home Secre­tary, is said to be still considering a bid and could be a late entry to the race with a considerable backing within the hardline Brexit wing.

On Monday, the 1922 Committee laid out the timetable for the leadership race and confirmed that the new prime minister will be elected on September 5 and address their first Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament on September 7. The first round of voting by Tory MPs is scheduled for Wednesday, when each candidate will require the backing of 30 colleagues – or just under 10 per cent of Tory MPs – in total to progress to round two. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak pledged to lower taxes only once inflation is under control, putting him at odds with rivals bidding to be Britain’s next prime minister who are calling for instant cuts.

UK PM hopefuls tout billions in tax cuts: Who is promising what?

Candidates to succeed Boris Johnson as UK prime minister are lining up billions of pounds of tax cuts to lure support from Conservative Party members who will select the winner in the coming weeks.

Here’s a rundown of the tax policies of top candidates:

Rishi Sunak

The man in charge of the UK Treasury as taxes spiralled higher.  Sunak reversed part of the NI rise by raising the threshold at which it is paid and pledged to cut income tax in 2024 — if the public finances allowed.  Sunak pledged to lower taxes only once inflation is under control, putting him at odds with rivals bidding to be Britain’s next prime minister who are calling for instant cuts

Nadhim Zahawi

The new chancellor has pledged to cut taxes for households and businesses. He will lower the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% in 2023 and to 18% in 2024, reverse the planned corporation tax increase, abolish VAT on energy bills at a cost of around £3 billion and increase defence spending

Sajid Javid

The former health secretary has set out a full scorecard for his plans. He will scrap the rise in corporation tax and will lower the rate to 15% “if conditions allow longer term.” He will reverse the NI hike from next April and cut the basic rate of income tax to 19%

Liz Truss

The foreign secretary promises to “start cutting taxes from day one.” She said would reverse Sunak’s NI rise and signalled she would lower corporation tax. She has also pledged to cut fuel duty by the 5p per liter reduction already in place

Tom Tugendhat

Tugendhat has promised to reverse the recent NI hike, but has also blasted his opponent’s corporation tax cuts as “not realistic unless you have a 10-year economic plan.”  “Britain at its best is low-tax and high growth,” he said