The Conservative party is poised to launch its election manifesto later today, with a pledge to slash another 2p from the National Insurance (NI) contributions required of workers if re-elected. Sunak, who is the current Prime Minister, has positioned the Conservatives as the party of “sound money” and reassured voters that his policies would assist working people to “keep more of the money you earn”. In contrast, he accused Labour of aiming to “take more of your money”. Labour, by contrast, describes the Tory manifesto as “the most expensive panic attack in history.”
The manifesto would be the second major party policy statement release ahead of the UK election. The Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto on 25 November. Later this week, Labour and the Green Party are scheduled to release their respective manifestos. While the Conservatives have not yet revealed their manifesto in full, Sunak hinted that it would contain detailed promises of tax cuts. Interviewed on the BBC, he said that his policies would be “fully funded and costed.” Sunak’s guarantee to the British public is that the party will continue to cut all of the people’s taxes.
NI contributions are payable by employees, companies, and self-employed workers. It seems that a further 2p cut in the rate for employees will be included in the Tory manifesto. Sunak also mentioned that the party’s longer policy goal is to scrap NI entirely when it becomes “financially responsible” to do so. Already, two rounds of NI cuts have been made by the UK government in 2024, decreasing the employee contribution from 12% to 10%, and then from 10% to 8%. This would represent the third rate cut supervised by Sunak if this reduction goes through, resulting in employees paying just 6p towards NI.
The manifesto launch will also feature pledges for helping potential homeowners. In an interview with the BBC, Sunak admitted that it has now become harder for working people in the UK to purchase properties under Conservative governments. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he offered reassurances that the Conservatives would introduce a new and better Help to Buy scheme to help young people ascend the property ladder. The party has already suggested scrapping stamp duty for first-time buyers of properties selling up to £425,000.
In the immediate run-up to the manifesto launch, Sunak’s campaign has hit a rough patch. Pressured to address questions regarding his early seniority commemoration departure, he has shrugged it off as a non-issue. But internal polls apparently tell a different story, indicating that Labour is presently leading. Furthermore, Reform UK is targeting the Tory voter demographic. Sunak may well be hoping that the Tory releases will provide much-needed inspiration to lift his party’s flagging election prospects. Finally, the Conservatives have promised never to raise income tax, NI, or VAT, yet both them and Labour have agreed to freeze income tax thresholds until 2028. Consequently, taxes will go up for many as their wages increase. The party has also pledged to raise the income tax personal allowance for pensioners, providing them with a tax cut of about £275 by 2030
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