Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has unveiled the Conservatives’ general election manifesto – here we round up some key of the takeaways. Sunak is appealing to ‘white van man’In a manifesto of few surprises one stood out – to abolish national insurance for the self-employed within five years. For employees, the Tories also pledged a further 2p cut to NI, following on successive 2p cuts at the autumn statement and spring budget. Making the self-employed exempt is expected to affect around four million people. The manifesto also promises no increases to income tax, NI or VAT and to scrap capital gains tax for landlords who sell properties to their tenants.And trying to appeal to would-be homeowners In an effort to help people get on the property ladder the document promises a “new and improved” Help to Buy scheme. To run for three years, it would be available to those buying new-builds, worth up to 20 per cent of a property’s value and would help buyers purchase with a 5 per cent deposit. The Conservatives have also said they will abolish stamp duty on houses up to the value of £425,000. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty at the launch of the Conservative Party General Election manifesto at Silverstone (James Manning/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi 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.” Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrive at an event to launch the Conservative Party’s manifesto More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as Rishi Sunak launches the Conservatives’ general election manifesto on Tuesday, 11 June.The prime minister has pledged a tax break for landlords, as well as help for first-time buyers after acknowledging during a BBC interview that it has become harder for people to own their first home under the Tories.Tax cuts, such as another 2p cut to national insurance, are also expected to be in the prime minister’s pledges according to reports.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures have previously showed the UK’s current level of tax burden is the highest on record.Tax hit 35.3 per cent of gross domestic product in 2022/23, a 0.9 per cent increase on the previous year, according to statistics published late last year; this ratio is forecast to grow to 37.7 per cent by 2029, with the government’s freeze on tax ratios the dominant driver.Today’s event comes after a difficult few days in the campaign for Mr Sunak, who has dismissed resignation rumours amid the ongoing criticism over his early departure from D-Day commemorations in France last week.Ahead of the launch, Labour’s Wes Streeting described the Tory manifesto as the “most expensive panic attack in history.”Labour will announce their manifesto on Thursday. More