Tax cuts aren’t the magic bullet Boris Johnson thinks they are

They are the Tories’ oldest friend: when in trouble, press button T for tax cuts, writes Andrew Grice

Johnson’s energies would be better devoted to helping people through the immediate cost of living crisis (Getty)

Tax cuts are now seen as the magic bullet that will miraculously transform Boris Johnson’s standing with the voters and Conservative MPs, unite his warring party and save his skin.

They are the Tories’ oldest friend: when in trouble, press button T for tax cuts. Although Johnson and Rishi Sunak will dial up the rhetoric in a joint appearance next week, they will talk mainly about axing regulations for business to spur growth. They are less likely to trumpet the hike in corporation tax from 19 to 25 per cent next April, which the chancellor may have to soften. Ministers expect he will come under irresistible pressure to fast forward the 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax from 2024 to next April.

Badly weakened by Monday’s confidence vote, Johnson has little option but to talk up the tax cuts demanded by the cabinet and backbenchers alike; 17 Tories did so yesterday.