He says he’s best placed to deliver Brexit, slash corporation tax and beat Corbyn. And adds “I am not going to criticise Boris for going to a posher public school than me.”
The Employment Minister embodies two reasons why the Government is still afloat – its jobs creation record and under-reported Ministerial loyalty.
In the second article of our mini-series, the Harlow MP calls for a relentless focus on the cost of living, a skills-based economy, social injustices and affordable housing.
Nevertheless, tax alone won’t solve our challenge. Instead we must reshape the high street experience – as we’re starting to do in the West Midlands.
During this Budget run-up, many of those I met raised business rates as a killer, plus council tax, the apprenticeship levy, parking charges and corporation tax, too.
We must always remember that the remarkable job statistics are primarily the achievement of the people, not of politicians.
Selling off the Royal Bank of Scotland without taking the chance to widen share ownership would be a wasted opportunity.
In the post-leave springtime, it will be worth considering what would happen if all three were abolished and replaced by a single Turnover Tax.
The final article in our series argues that while the primary focus should be deficit reduction, there may yet be room to make life a bit easier, particularly for the poorest.
After our recent series asked ‘What should Tories tax?’, the Adam Smith Institute’s Head of Research kicks off a new mini-series seeking routes to lower taxes.
Wanted: a grand bargain with voters, whereby some rises at the top end are traded off for others nearer the bottom.
Our mini-series this week revealed points of broad consensus and points of approaching conflict on the centre right in terms of how the tax burden is distributed.
A Council Tax revaluation, and higher bands for higher value properties, would be an acceptable price to pay in return for the abolition of Stamp Duty, too.
This is a contribution to the debate – now let’s see what the candidates offer during the week ahead.