Davis promises 38 billion of tax cuts

Tory leadership candidate David Davis will bill himself today as the true champion of his partys traditional tax-cutting philosophy.

13:16 28 October 2005

Tory leadership candidate David Davis will bill himself today as the true champion of his partys traditional tax-cutting philosophy.

The shadow home secretary is aiming to seize back the initiative from his main rival and bookies favourite, David Cameron, who last night launched his own set of economic policies.

In a speech at the University of London, Mr Davis is expected to unveil a whopping 38 billion of tax cuts as part of a blueprint for a future Tory government.

He will pledge to change public spending rules to deliver tax cuts of 1,200 a year for the average family in Britain by the end of the next parliament and moot the possibility of slashing the basic rate of income tax from 14p to 8p in the pound.

As part of his leadership push, now that ballot papers have been sent out to the partys 300,000 members, Mr Davis will commit a future Tory government to spending wisely, cutting taxes and generating growth.

Cuts could also come from abolishing perceived unpopular taxes such as inheritance tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty.

Mr Davis is expected to attack chancellor Gordon Browns record and claim the tax burden has risen to a neat 25-year high under his helmsmanship.

"The political sands are shifting. Gordon Browns high-tax, high-spending experiment is running into trouble," he will say.

"We will make the gravest mistake if we seek to ape the New Labour project at the moment when it is seen to have failed. People are yearning for an alternative to New Labour, not a repetition of it."