Boris Johnson has continued to double down on a scheduled National Insurance increase insisting that Margaret Thatcher would have supported the tax hike.
The prime minister had faced pressure from some Conservative MPs to scrap or at least delay the April 1.25 per centage point increase amid the cost of living crisis and Partygate scandal.
But Mr Johnson, along with the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, have committed to following through on the policy insisting that it is integral to clearing Covid backlogs.
The PM told The Sun the increase was an inevitable consequence of the “massive, massive expenditure we saw” during Covid — and that our “country deserves better care”.
He continued: “Spending that money was essential, but it was a huge drain . . . and a country has got to pay its way.”
Risking a fresh row with Tory MPs, he claimed fans of the late Lady Thatcher should back the rise.
He said: “To all the Thatcherites and all those who believe in a low tax economy, Rishi Sunak and I both believe in exactly the same agenda.
“We are also Thatcherites in that we believe in sound money. We are responsible Conservatives so we have to do the right thing.”
Mrs Thatcher was renowned for her revolutionary economic policies tackling double-digit inflation in the late 1970s and 80s. She cut income tax while introducing more regressive VAT and the largely unpopular Poll Tax.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mocked Mr Johnson’s claims of being a “low-tax Tory” at PMQs yesterday.
He said: “Why do these alleged tax-cutters keep raising taxes on working people?
Adding: “Isn’t it the case that he and his chancellor are the Tory Thelma and Louise, hand in hand as they drive the country off the cliff and into the abyss of low growth and high tax?”
Starmer said working people are “always asked to pay more” as he noted the prime minister ordered Tory MPs to oppose a proposed windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers, adding: “As a result, the country is missing out on over £1bn he could have used to cut taxes on energy bills for working people.”
Starmer countered: “The truth is the Conservative party is the party of high taxes because they’re the party of low growth. They’re the party of high taxes because they’re the party of eye-watering waste.
“We know this prime minister has no respect for decency or honesty. I can take it when it’s aimed at me but I won’t accept it when he gaslights the British public - writing absurd articles about cutting taxes at a time when he is squeezing working people to the pips.”
The Conservative chair of the Commons Treasury select committee, Mel Stride, called No 10’s insistence on going ahead with the hike at a time when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis was a “mistake”.
Mr Stride said chancellor Rishi Sunak should use the “headroom” provided by a £13bn windfall in the shape of lower-than-expected borrowing to delay the introduction of the health and social care levy by a year to 2023.
“There’s more wriggle room to play with,” Mr Stride told Times Radio.
He added: “And my view would be that, for one year only, given the cost-of-living pressures, it would be prudent to set that extra firepower – that extra headroom – towards not going ahead with those national insurance rises.”
