London, July 10 (BNA) The competition to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accelerated on Sunday as five other candidates announced their intention to run, and many pledged tax cuts and a clean start to the scandal-ridden premiership.
Johnson said on Thursday he would resign as prime minister, after several lawmakers and his Cabinet colleagues rebelled over his handling of a series of scandals, including violating lockdown rules at rallies in his Downing Street office.
Petty Commerce Secretary Penny Mordaunt formally announced her candidacy on Sunday, joining Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps, Finance Minister Nazim Zahawi, and former ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, who announced their presidential candidacy in time for their Sunday papers, bringing the total to nine, Reuters reported.
“This is a critical turning point for our country,” Mordaunt said in a statement. “I believe a socialist or socialist-led coalition government at the next election would be a disaster for the United Kingdom.” “We must win the next election.”
The 1922 Conservative Party Committee of Legislators, which includes all MPs, will determine the exact rules and timetable for the contest in the coming days, looking to speed up the process of reducing the contenders to the final two.
Conservative Party members will then have the opportunity to vote on the two that will reach the run-off, the outcome expected by the Conservative Party conference in October, and possibly sooner.
Entering the race, Shapps, Zahawi, Hunt and Judd all pledged tax cuts, putting them at odds with former finance minister Rishi Sunak, whose budget last year set Britain on its way to shouldering its heaviest tax burden since the 1950s.
“I believe in lower taxes, lower regulations and an unrivaled economy,” Shapps told Sky News, adding that he would reserve an emergency budget to deliver a penny cut in the income tax rate, currently planned for 2024, and look to downsizing the civil service.
“I also want to stop, or freeze, if I like, the proposed increase in corporate tax…and (make sure) to lower the cost to the state.”
Hunt, the former foreign secretary who finished second in the leadership contest in 2019 when Johnson took office, and Judd, who twice resigned from Johnson’s government, both said they would cut corporate tax to 15%.
No governor should raise taxes or provide unfunded tax cuts, Hunt said. Asked if tax cuts would lead to inflation, Hunt said, “I don’t agree with that when it comes to business taxes.”
“If you stimulate consumer demand, when there’s some demand-led inflation, there’s that risk, but we have to put pressure on inflation. That’s why I’d be very careful not to pledge (tax) cuts that would increase inflation,” he said.
Secretary of State Liz Truss will launch her campaign on Monday with a promise to cut taxes and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, while one of her main rivals for the job has ruled out Defense Secretary Ben Wallace himself, The Mail on Sunday said. .
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