Former Theresa May aide Nick Timothy says Tories must hike taxes to help poorest
2 min read
Theresa May’s former right-hand man Nick Timothy has said the Government must be prepared to raise taxes for the wealthy in order to “turbocharge” social mobility.
He said improving people's life chances was “an important part of the [Tories’] identity” and urged ministers to consider increasing income tax and inheritance tax, as well as scrapping stamp duty entirely and replacing it with capital gains tax to help “younger people on modest incomes”.
Mrs May used her first Downing Street speech after taking over from David Cameron to outline her vision of a “country that works for everyone” and a “truly meritocratic Britain”.
However the adviser, who quit Number 10 following the Prime Minister’s disastrous election result in June, said the chances of the least well off climbing the ladder were “getting worse not better”.
Among a series of demands that will anger Tory right-wingers, he wrote in The Sun: “The Government should be prepared to redistribute more through the tax system: from the wealthy to working families with modest incomes.
“They should be prepared to increase taxes on accumulated wealth so they can cut taxes on income.”
He added: “Many Tories would find some of these measures too radical."
“But if they really want to make the Conservatives the party of social mobility, and make Britain the world’s Great Meritocracy, they will have to overcome their ideological assumptions – and do the right thing for the country.”
Mr Timothy also blasted Education Secretary Justine Greening, branding her Social Mobility Action Plan, published last week,“disappointing”.
“Greening is slowing down successful policies she inherited,” he added.
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