LONDON — The candidates to replace Boris Johnson as UK prime minister are spreading tax-cut promises to their Conservative Party constituency, as party officials prepare on Monday to rapidly shrink the field. crowded of nearly a dozen candidates.
Little-known minister Rehman Chishti has become the 11th candidate to announce he wants to succeed Johnson, who stepped down as party leader on Thursday amid a party revolt sparked by months of religious scandals. virtue. Other candidates include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Chief Financial Officer Nadhim Zahawi, former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt, and opposition lawmakers Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch.
The new leader will be chosen in a two-stage election in which 358 Conservative lawmakers reduce the race to two candidates through a series of elimination votes. The final pair will be placed on a postal ballot of all party members nationwide. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, the next party leader automatically becomes prime minister without a general election.
The party’s 1922 committee, which runs leadership contests, will elect a new chief executive on Monday, which will set the rules for the contest. The committee wants to complete the parliamentary election period by the time lawmakers leave for summer vacation on July 21. That means a second round in the summer with a new leader by the time the House returns. on September 5.
An important committee decision is how many nominations a candidate will need to get on the first ballot. At the final leadership contest in 2019, the number was eight, but the threshold is expected to be 20 or more – a move that could knock out some candidates instantly.
Many Conservatives are wary of leaving Johnson in office for too long, fearing a crippled leader is the last thing the country needs with war raging in Ukraine, rising food and energy prices fueling inflation levels not seen in decades, and labor unrest is increasing. . Some are also worried Johnson – devastated by money scandals, rule violations and his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against lawmakers – could screw up even while he was prime minister.
In the broad leadership contest, candidates are trying to differentiate themselves from the perceived lead as former Treasurer Rishi Sunak, who to date has the backing of more than three dozen lawmakers. France.
Many have rejected the tax hike Sunak introduced to support the UK’s finances hit by the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit – a 1.25% income tax increase for millions of workers and an increase corporate tax next year from 19% to 25%. Most candidates said they would eliminate one or both.
“I want to cut all taxes,” Hunt said. “The Treasury numbers say you will get back half of what you invest in the corporate tax cuts as a result of increased business activity.”
Truss said she would start cutting taxes “from day one,” and Tugendhat said he would “reduce taxes on every aspect of society.”
Sunak, whose resignation on Tuesday helped topple Johnson, has cast himself as a candidate for financial sanctions, and warned opponents against telling the public “pleasant fairy tales.” will make the country worse in the long run.
The candidates are trying to separate themselves from the quagmire of drift, disorganization and rule-breaking that have engulfed Johnson – although most of them have served in his government, and some still do. do.
The candidates are seeking to call out a constituency of about 180,000 Conservative Party members that, in many ways, are not representative of the country as a whole: It’s older, whiter and wealthier, and powerful. much more pro-Brexit, the country’s departure from the European Union.
So far, no one has given up on Johnson’s most controversial policies: Legislation tearing up parts of the Brexit deal with the EU and plans to send some asylum seekers to Britain to Rwanda are being challenged. before the court.
The partisan battle has been intense, with opponents criticizing Sunak’s record as Finance Minister, and Zahawi, the current Treasurer, fighting accusations that he is under fire. investigate your tax matters.
Zahawi says he is being “smeared” and says he is not aware of any investigations by the tax or other agencies.
Betting experts suggest that Sunak is likely to be one of the final two contenders, but the race is highly unpredictable. Both Tugendhat, a veteran on the center-left, and rising star on the right-wing Badenoch have the backing of big names and can surprise more experienced opponents.
Johnson held on for months despite accusations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from allegations of bullying and corruption, and that he misled the National Assembly. conference on parties in government office broke the COVID-19 lockdown rule.
He was fined by police for attending one of the parties, but went on to survive last month’s vote of no confidence in Parliament, despite 41 per cent of Conservative lawmakers trying to overturn. dump him.
But Johnson has been plagued by one too many scandals – this one involving his appointment of a politician accused of sexual misconduct.
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