Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood said the Prime Minister and the Chancellor should ditch the recent National Insurance hike, suspend VAT on domestic heating bills and bring forward the planned cut to Income Tax as households struggle with the soaring cost of living. The former Cabinet minister also called for a boost to Universal Credit payments to help the most vulnerable.
Sir John, a fellow of an Oxford University college, told Express.co.uk: “I would cancel the National Insurance rise.
“I don’t think you want to tax work more heavily. The best way to pay your bills is to have a job.
“Not everybody can do that so you need to be a bit more generous on Universal Credit for people who don’t have any other income coming in.
“I would suspend, at least, VAT on domestic heating bills. And then probably do a bit on Income Tax as well.”
Urging Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to act immediately, the Brexiteer added: “All of this you’ve got to do now.
“I wanted it done at the beginning of April because I’ve been warning for a long time as have others that this is going to happen.
“I wanted people to have the money available from April when the bills started to come in.
“So the sooner the better. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor sort it out in a few days and then they should announce it to Parliament and get on with it.”
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Sir John’s comments come after he took to Twitter earlier this week to unveil his own economic policy, prompting calls from some commentators for him to replace Mr Sunak as Chancellor.
It comes as inflation surged to a 40-year high of nine percent in April as Brits face eye-watering energy bills and food costs, while petrol and diesel prices have reached record levels.
The Bank of England warned earlier this month that the squeeze is set to leave the UK on the brink of recession.
Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak are under mounting pressure to take further action to tackle the crisis.
A Government spokesperson said: “We understand that people are struggling with rising prices, and while we can’t shield everyone from the global challenges we face, we’re supporting British families to navigate the months ahead with a £22 billion package of support.
“That includes saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut in July, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep more of the money they earn – benefiting over a million families by around £1,000 a year, and providing millions of households with up to £350 each to help with rising energy bills.
“The Chancellor has been clear that as the situation evolves, our response will evolve – and we stand ready to do more.”
