Cut tax and fire disloyal ministers, allies tell PM

The prime minister is being urged by cabinet ministers to cut taxes and sack disloyal ministers to save his premiership. Five ministers and eight parliamentary private secretaries, including levelling up PPS Duncan Baker, have declined to say how they voted in Monday’s confidence vote. Allies of Boris Johnson said the disloyal needed to be culled, but others have advised against a “revenge reshuffle”. Johnson told ministers yesterday that they would face the sack if they failed to deliver on key policies, including housing. Johnson has made a broad pledge to deliver tax cuts once the economic situation improves. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is planning to focus his November Budget on cutting business taxes to incentivise investment rather than cutting personal taxes such as income tax or VAT. But leading Tories have said both personal and business taxes need to be cut before then to stop the government appearing “un-Conservative and socialist”. “We have to reduce both personal and corporation tax levels,” said one minister. “We can’t call ourselves a Conservative government if we have the highest tax burden since the 1940s.” Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told the BBC yesterday that he wanted to see “very radical” tax cuts as soon as possible. The Times (£) and The Times (£) The FT (£) The Guardian