New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi in spat with Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey: ‘I’m just setting out my stall as prime minister!’
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi insisted this morning it was appropriate for him to set out tax proposals during his Tory leadership race after criticism from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
He told BBC Breakfast this a.m.: “I’m just setting out my stall as prime minister! And I have fully costed these pledges, and I’ll be saying more about the way we’ll pay for that in the coming days.”
Zahawi also said “cutting taxes isn’t a fairytale” in a swipe at his predecessor Rishi Sunak as he set out his pitch to Tory voters.
He said in his leadership campaign video that he would reform education to give pupils “the tools they need to succeed in life”.
“Faced by Russia and China it is clear we must increase our spending on defence.”
Nadhim Zahawi
“And of course we need to reduce the burden of tax. I believe cutting taxes isn’t a fairytale but rather a critical step to tackle the cost-of-living crisis,” he continued.
Zahawi said he believes he has the 20 nominations from Tory colleagues required to move to the next stage of the leadership contest.
“We have. And we will be putting our nomination in later today. I’m confident I have the backing of my colleagues.”
Morning Wire‘s tally of publicly-declared nominations currently has Zahawi on 13.
Moreover, Zahawi highlighted his record as vaccines minister and a businessman in his pitch to be the next prime minister.
The Chancellor’s campaign video said Boris Johnson’s Government – in which he has served in various roles since the Prime Minister took office – had felt “a little listless” recently.
He said he would be a “battle-tested prime minister” because of his role in the Covid-19 vaccines rollout.
“I’m a father, an immigrant, a self-made businessman, and I ran the world’s leading Covid vaccination campaign,” he said.