'Thatcher wouldn't be cutting taxes now', minister tells Tory right

2023-06-12

‘Margaret Thatcher wouldn’t be cutting taxes now’: Minister Gillian Keegan says Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are channelling the economic ‘focus and grip’ of the Iron Lady in blast at ‘fairytale’ plans of Tory right

The Education Secretary gave a speech at a think tank set up by the Iron Lady
Invoked 1980s premier to indirectly lambast Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and allies

Gillian Keegan became the latest Rishi Sunak minister to aim her guns on his Tory enemies today, invoking Margaret Thatcher in a withering attack on right-wingers seeking tax cuts.

The Education Secretary used a speech at a think tank set up by the Iron Lady to criticise the Prime Minister’s party critics who are demanding he cut taxes straight away.

In her keynote address to the Centre for Policy Studies’ Margaret Thatcher Conference she invoked the memory and leadership style of the 1980s premier to indirectly lambast Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and their allies.

It is the latest attack from Government ministers as they go on the offensive after a wave of resignations and attacks over the weekend. Mr Sunak and Levelling-Up secretary Michael Gove both spoke out against Mr Johnson this morning.

The PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are insisting that taxes can only come down once inflation – currently running at 8.7 per cent, is brought under control, to avoid making it worse.

Ms Keegan, who spoke about becoming a devotee of Thatcher while growing up in 1980s Liverpool, told the London event the PM and Chancellor were channeling her ‘focus and grip’ on the economy.

‘Whilst lower taxes are at the heart of Conservative economic thinking, Margaret Thatcher never thought that the way to achieve a low-tax economy was by dramatically increasing public sector debt and borrowing,’ she said, in a direct swipe at Ms Truss’s brief time as PM last year.

The Education Secretary used a speech at a think tank set up by the Iron Lady to criticise the Prime Minister’s party critics who are demanding he cut taxes straight away.

Ms Keegan, who spoke about becoming a devotee of Thatcher while growing up in 1980s Liverpool, told the London event the PM and Chancellor were channeling her ‘focus and grip’ on the economy.

‘She knew that you had to deal with inflation first otherwise every tax cut or spending pledge would be eaten by inflation.

‘That focus, that grip, that is what this Government is channelling.

‘You can see it in the Chancellor’s focus on restoring economic stability, and in the Prime Minister’s focus on driving areas where we can leverage a real competitive advantage.’

In another broadside she warned that ‘Selectively choosing bits of the legacy and dressing it up as Thatcherism is a betrayal of her great legacy.’

Mr Sunak went to war with Johnson today accusing the ex-PM of asking him to do something that ‘wasn’t right’ over honours for MPs.

Speaking at a tech summit in London, Mr Sunak directly addressed the bombshell Commons resignations by Mr Johnson and two of his allies.

He said he had not been willing to overrule the House of Lords Appointments Commission by deferring peerages until the general election, or promise to give awards in the future. ‘I didn’t think it was right and if people don’t like that then tough,’ he said.

But an ally of Mr Johnson accused Mr Sunak of ‘secretly blocking’ the gongs for Nadine Dorries and others.

The premier’s full-frontal attack on Mr Johnson’s long-awaited resignation honours list came as ministers dismissed criticism of the Commons privileges committee as a ‘kangaroo court’.

The cross-party group of MPs is due to meet later to finalise their report into allegations that Mr Johnson recklessly misled Parliament over Partygate.

The findings could be released as soon as today, and is expected to make clear that they would have recommended a 20-day suspension. Seeing a draft version of the report was what triggered Mr Johnson standing down from Parliament on Friday.

The committee – which has a Labour chair but a majority of Tory members – could also call for Mr Johnson to be barred from the parliamentary estate for questioning its integrity.

Mr Sunak is struggling to quell a Tory civil war with the prospect of three by-elections looming. Along with Mr Johnson’s resignation, two of his allies – Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams – also announced they were standing down with immediate effect.

There has been a bitter row over Mr Johnson’s honours list, with Mr Sunak accused of reneging on an agreement for MPs to defer peerages until the election – something the PM denies.

In his withering resignation statement on Friday, Mr Johnson attacked Mr Sunak and called for tax cuts, despite overseeing a raft of tax rises while in No10 himself.

‘When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened,’ he said.

‘Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.

‘Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.

‘We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit and we need in the next months to be setting out a pro-growth and pro-investment agenda. We need to cut business and personal taxes – and not just as pre-election gimmicks – rather than endlessly putting them up.

‘We must not be afraid to be a properly Conservative government.’

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