Rishi Sunak says the public is “better at spending their own money than the government is” as he unveils a raft of tax cuts in the Conservative Party’s manifesto.
The prime minister unveiled a £17.2 billion package of tax cuts on Tuesday (11/6) as he fought to keep his place in No 10.
With Labour’s poll lead stubbornly around 20 points, the Tory leader sought to get the party’s campaign back on track with the launch of his General Election manifesto at the Silverstone motor racing circuit.
He acknowledged that people were “frustrated” with him and admitted the Tories “have not got everything right”.
But the Conservatives “are the only party in this election with the big ideas to make our country a better place to live”, the Prime Minister said.
The Tories promised to cut a further 2p off employees’ national insurance by April 2027 and abolish the main rate of the tax for the self-employed entirely by the end of the Parliament.
“We are cutting taxes for workers, for parents and pensioners, and we are the party of Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson, a party, unlike Labour, that believes in sound money,” Mr Sunak said.
Taking to social media after the announcement, Sunak posted: “You will always be better at spending your own money than the government is.”
But not everyone agreed.
Mike Galsworthy responded by saying: “How are we, the public, meant to spend our own money on, for example, UK defence equipment better than the government?”, while Simon Patterson added: “Can you recommend a good private police force to spend my money on? What about ambulances and fire engines? Am I permitted to start my own army now?”
Here’s a round-up of the best responses elsewhere:
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