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Hammond warns Tory candidates over tax cut pledges Hammond warns Tory candidates over tax cut pledges
(3 days later)
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, will tell Tory leadership hopefuls that they cannot hope to rebuild the party simply by cutting taxes and slashing red tape. He will also warn against “reckless” solutions offered by “populists” and defend government intervention on issues such as the national living wage.The chancellor, Philip Hammond, will tell Tory leadership hopefuls that they cannot hope to rebuild the party simply by cutting taxes and slashing red tape. He will also warn against “reckless” solutions offered by “populists” and defend government intervention on issues such as the national living wage.
Hammond will argue that a “regulated market model” rather than total liberalisation is the best way to raise living standards.Hammond will argue that a “regulated market model” rather than total liberalisation is the best way to raise living standards.
With Philip Hammond's departure likely, an uphill battle awaits his successor | Larry ElliottWith Philip Hammond's departure likely, an uphill battle awaits his successor | Larry Elliott
Leadership contenders are already setting out plans to cut taxes in an effort to appeal to the grassroots Tory members who will decide on the next occupant of No 10.Leadership contenders are already setting out plans to cut taxes in an effort to appeal to the grassroots Tory members who will decide on the next occupant of No 10.
Dominic Raab has pledged to cut income tax by a penny a year – 5p over the course of a parliament, to just 15p in the pound for the basic rate – which critics have claimed would cost £25bn. The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has also adopted a tax-cutting approach, although in his case he suggested slashing corporation tax to Irish levels of 12.5%.Dominic Raab has pledged to cut income tax by a penny a year – 5p over the course of a parliament, to just 15p in the pound for the basic rate – which critics have claimed would cost £25bn. The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has also adopted a tax-cutting approach, although in his case he suggested slashing corporation tax to Irish levels of 12.5%.
A source said Hammond’s speech would be a “rebuke to those who call for total liberalisation of the market” and a warning against “those who seek to renew the Conservative party by relying on tax cuts and deregulation only”. He would be making the point that “letting rip the forces of the free market doesn’t always work for all”, the source said.A source said Hammond’s speech would be a “rebuke to those who call for total liberalisation of the market” and a warning against “those who seek to renew the Conservative party by relying on tax cuts and deregulation only”. He would be making the point that “letting rip the forces of the free market doesn’t always work for all”, the source said.
The environment secretary is to pitch himself as a “unity candidate” capable of attracting leavers and remainers, as he formally declared his candidacy saying: “I believe that I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country.” But robust Brexiters in particular dislike the fact that he stayed loyal even in the final days of the crumbling May regime. The environment secretary’s campaign plan was knocked off course by revelations about drug-taking.
He has sought to regain his place as the leading ‘Stop Boris’ with a series of policy pledges, from a new social insurance to pay for social care, to changing human rights law to prevent service personnel being pursued over historical crimes. He has better Brexiter credentials than Hunt, is liked by the moderate wing of the party, and is a better orator than almost any other candidate.
He has played up his senior role in the Vote Leave campaign, saying he had ‘led from the front’ because he believed it was ‘the right thing to do, at a critical moment in our history’.
On Brexit he has publicly discussed the idea of extending the Brexit deadline slightly beyond 31 October, if needed to finalise a deal. Has not completely ruled out a no-deal Brexit.
He received 37 votes in the first round, coming third.He received 37 votes in the first round, coming third.
Fears that the foreign secretary would be another overly woolly compromise choice were hardly assuaged when after a set-piece speech he seemed unable to outline why his brand of Conservatism might appeal to voters. Hunt has been backed by Liam Fox.  The foreign secretary has made the case that he is the most serious and experienced would-be leader, in an apparent rebuke to his main rival, Boris Johnson. 
On Brexit he believes a new deal is possible by 31 October, and would send a new, cross-party negotiating team to Brussels. Would countenance leaving EU without a deal, but has warned that could lead to a confidence vote and potentially an election.
Hunt’s problem is he is seen as the continuity candidate, the safe pair of hands, when colleagues are starting to see the attraction of a new style. 
He received 43 votes in the first round, placing him second.He received 43 votes in the first round, placing him second.
The home secretary still has the same weaknesses: he is an uninspiring speaker and some worry he is too fond of headline-grabbing, illiberal political gestures. But he is almost as ubiquitous as Liz Truss, and clearly believes this is his time. Javid struggled to define himself in the first days of the campaign, not a fresh face, not a safe pair of hands, or a true Brexit believer. But his campaign picked up, with the endorsement of popular Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, a polished leadership video telling the moving story of his background, and a lively launch speech. It was still only enough to place him fifth, though.
On Brexit, Javid says he wants to leave with a deal, but has talked down the idea of another extension and would be prepared to opt for no deal.
He is expected to make a new push to define himself as the change candidate who can talk to Tory voters in new places – though he may also be tempted to drop out to tuck in behind one of the frontrunners. It is hard to see how he could make it into the final two from this position.
He received 23 votes in the first round.He received 23 votes in the first round.
The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate. The former foreign secretary already has enough support to progress through to the members’ ballot. All Johnson needs to do is sit tight, keep his MPs sweet and try not to ruin it for himself. He has kept a low profile in the media and stayed in the tearooms and in his office, methodically talking round colleagues. His team know that one negative news cycle because of an off-guard comment could see his star plummet – and Johnson is more prone to those than most.
On Brexit he has promised the UK will leave the EU on 31 October, come what may, even without a deal if a new agreement cannot be reached in time.
Johnson won the first round with 114 votes.Johnson won the first round with 114 votes.
The former work and pensions secretary, who quit last year over May’s Brexit plans, has launched her own in-party campaign group/leadership vehicle called Blue Collar Conservatism, promising to make the party more amenable to voters in deprived communities – mainly through a promise to deliver a strong Brexit and policies such as diverting much of the foreign aid budget to schools and police. The former Brexit secretary has had a rocky start to his campaign after telling broadcasters he was not a feminist and missing out on a slew of endorsements from the Brexiter right of the party, which instead went to Boris Johnson
On Brexit Raab has said he would actively seek a no-deal departure, and has repeatedly refused to rule out proroguing parliament to make sure MPs could not block this. ‘We’ve been humiliated as a country in these talks with the EU,’ he said. ‘We’re divided at home, and demeaned abroad.’
His limited chance of success really now depends on whether Johnson stumbles and a more moderate candidate gains momentum, in which case Raab could be the beneficiary.
Raab got 27 votes in the first round.Raab got 27 votes in the first round.
Few things say “would-be leader in waiting” like a kitchen photoshoot with your spouse, and the former Brexit secretary duly obliged with this imageawash with tasteful pastel hues. He formally launched his bid in the Mail on Sunday. Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed. Stewart said he was ‘over the moon’ to scrape into the next round of voting with 19 votes, one-sixth of Johnson’s tally, and insisted afterwards he could still make the final two. He still has a mountain to climb to get into the next round, where he will need to get another 14 endorsements – and avoid coming last – or he will be automatically eliminated.
The safe money would say it is likely that he will not make it through the next round, yet it is just about possible that his mounting popularity with the public could convince colleagues to take a gamble on him if they hope to find an outsider with a chance of beating Johnson.
On Brexit he is by far the softest of the candidates – he so vehemently rules out no deal that he has discussed holding an impromptu parliament elsewhere in Westminster if a new PM opted to prorogue the Commons.
Stewart got 19 votes in the first round.Stewart got 19 votes in the first round.
Hammond will be speaking in London on Thursday at the launch of a report by living standards thinktank the Resolution Foundation on the impact of the higher minimum wage.Hammond will be speaking in London on Thursday at the launch of a report by living standards thinktank the Resolution Foundation on the impact of the higher minimum wage.
He will say: “The truth is, we have seen a gap open up – in Britain and in other developed countries – between the theory of how a market economy and free trade creates and distributes wealth, and the reality experienced by many ordinary people.He will say: “The truth is, we have seen a gap open up – in Britain and in other developed countries – between the theory of how a market economy and free trade creates and distributes wealth, and the reality experienced by many ordinary people.
“But that doesn’t mean we should abandon our economic model. Of course, we can’t ignore people’s concerns either – otherwise the reckless solutions of the populists will flood in to fill the vacuum.“But that doesn’t mean we should abandon our economic model. Of course, we can’t ignore people’s concerns either – otherwise the reckless solutions of the populists will flood in to fill the vacuum.
“So for those, like me, who believe passionately that harnessing the power of market economics is the only way to deliver progress … it is imperative that we take decisive action to show that the regulated market model can deliver higher wages and higher living standards.”“So for those, like me, who believe passionately that harnessing the power of market economics is the only way to deliver progress … it is imperative that we take decisive action to show that the regulated market model can deliver higher wages and higher living standards.”
Philip HammondPhilip Hammond
Conservative leadershipConservative leadership
ConservativesConservatives
Tax and spendingTax and spending
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