Rishi Sunak has made a last-ditch appeal to voters with tax cuts as he seeks to turn the tide of his disastrous election campaign.
The prime minister pledged to cut national insurance by 2p, and scrap it entirely within five years for the self-employed, as he unveiled the Conservative manifesto in what is one of his final major throws of the dice before polling day.
Labour hit back at the plans, with Keir Starmer accusing Mr Sunak of producing a “Jeremy Corbyn-style” document, “where anything you want can go in it. None of it is costed.”
At an event at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, Mr Sunak outlined the plans to cut national insurance, despite fears from his own MPs the move will do little to move the dial on the election.
Around four million self-employed workers would be exempt from the tax under the plans. The announcement was “a further downpayment” on his party’s long term ambition to abolish the levy entirely, he said.
The manifesto says the plan would “recognise the unique contribution of these risk-takers”.
He pledged a Conservative government would “halve migration as we have halved inflation and then reduce it every single year”.
The party would also require migrants to undergo a health check before coming to the UK and force them to purchase insurance if they are “likely to be a burden on the NHS”.
Mr Sunak also pledged the Conservatives would deliver 1.6 million new homes, by speeding up planning on brownfield land in inner cities, and ‘scrap defective EU laws’.
He had already pledged not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT and to introduce a “triple lock plus” to prevent pensioners paying income tax on
The PM said the Tories offered “lower immigration, lower taxes and protected pensions” as part of a “secure future”.
He also doubled down on his claims Labour is preparing a £2,000 tax bombshell for households, even after the figure was rubbished by the Treasury.
And he warned disaffected Tory voters that backing Nigel Farage’s Reform could see Labour in power for “a very long time”.
The Conservative package is thought to add up to nearly £20bn of tax cuts and public spending.
The Tory leader drew upon the spirit of Mrs Thatcher as he unveiled his plans, saying that as the party of the ex-PM and Nigel Lawson, the former chancellor, the Tories believe in “sound money” and will ensure “lower welfare so we can lower taxes”.
Labour has previously described the manifesto as “the most expensive panic attack in history”
Even as he prepared to try to revive his party’s flagging fortunes, Mr Sunak was forced to admit that aspiration has become much harder under the Tories.
In an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson on Monday night, the prime minister admitted the dream of home ownership, a key part of the Margaret Thatcher revolution in the 1980s, had become much harder under the modern-day Tories.
The Conservatives say their ambition is to scrap national insurance when it is financially responsible to do so, a policy Labour says will cost £46bn by 2030.
Unveiling his manifesto, Mr Sunak was introduced by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, who just a month ago criticised Mr Sunak and his ability to win votes in an interview with The Independent.
At the time, he said: “There are lots of people who will come up to me and speak to me that say that they’re going to vote for me, but they probably won’t be voting for the Conservative Party in the general election.”
On Monday, Mr Sunak was forced to deny he would quit before polling day.
It followed an outcry after he returned early from D-Day commemorations last week.
Mr Sunak was accused of going into hiding after the snub, as rumours swirled that he might step down.
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