London Mayoral Election: Zac Goldsmith presses for cuts to tax and red tape
Zac Goldsmith is pledging to support further cuts to corporation tax if he becomes mayor of London today as the Richmond Park MP launches his mayoral manifesto.
The Conservative candidate for mayor will also seek to set himself apart from Labour’s Sadiq Khan by championing deregulation of the City and encouraging less red tape for start-ups.
A campaign spokesperson said: “Zac is looking forward to continuing making the case for tax cuts for the City, especially corporation tax, as he has done as an MP, and in contrast to Khan who opposed.
“We will also be targeting the wider London economy by helping High Streets and when it comes to encouraging small businesses and start-ups, we will make creating office space more easy.”
Goldsmith will launch his official manifesto this week setting out his vision for a stronger London. Current London mayor Boris Johnson is expected to say at the launch: “London is an economic beacon for the whole country and the mayor’s job doesn’t add up to a can of beans unless they can keep the economy strong. We need a mayor who will invest in transport, invest in skills and stand up for business. None of the problems London faces can be solved if businesses don’t succeed and our economy doesn’t grow.
“In the Labour party of Corbyn and Khan, who want to abolish Canada, take over the Bank of England and raise taxes, London’s businesses face their most serious threat. Zac Goldsmith is the man standing in the way of this dangerous divisive Corbyn/Khan ideological experiment, an experiment that threatens business, and with it the very jobs and growth essential to London’s future prosperity.”
Goldsmith’s manifesto is expected to build on the policies outlined in his Blueprint for Business, which includes setting up a Business Advisory Board and establishing a £1m mayor’s Tech Challenge to encourage solutions to the City’s problems.
Sadiq Khan’s campaign was approached for comment.